PURPOSE Cationic gemini surfactants have been studied as non-viral vectors for gene therapy. Clinical applications of cationic lipid/DNA lipoplexes are restricted by their instability in aqueous formulations. In this work, we investigated the influence of lyophilization on the essential physiochemical properties and in vitro transfection of gemini surfactant-lipoplexes. Additionally, we evaluat...

Experimental data are presented on the enhanced solubilities of fluorene (FLR) resulting from solubilization in aqueous solutions of two conventional surfactants: cationic cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) , anionic sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS), nonioinic polyethylene glycol dodecyl ether (Brij35) and a cationic gemini bis (hexadecyldimethylammonium) pentane dibromide (G5). The critical mic...

Bis(diphenylphosphino)alkanes quantitatively react with excess 1-bromododecane to prepare novel phosphonium gemini surfactants with spacer lengths ranging from 2 to 4 methylenes (12-2/3/4-12P). Dodecyltriphenylphosphonium bromide (DTPP), a monomeric surfactant analog, was readily water soluble, however, in sharp contrast, phosphonium gemini surfactants were poorly soluble in water due to two hy...

The structure of the lipoplex formed from DNA and the sugar-based cationic gemini surfactant 1, which exhibits excellent transfection efficiency, has been investigated in the pH range 8.8-3.0 utilizing small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) and cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-TEM). Uniquely, three well-defined morphologies of the lipoplex were observed upon gradual acidification: a lamellar phase, ...

Solvation dynamics and rotational relaxation of coumarin 153 (C-153) in mixed micelles of non-ionic surfactant, Triton X-100 and a series of cationic gemini surfactants, 12-s-12, 2Br with varying polymethylene spacer chain length (s = 3, 6, 8, 12) at different bulk mole fractions of a surfactant were studied. Studies were carried out by means of UV-Vis absorption, steady-state fluorescence and ...

The success rate of gene therapy depends on the efficient transfection of genetic material into cells. The golden mean between harmlessness and high effectiveness can be provided by synthetic lipid-like molecules that are similar to the components of biological membranes. Cationic gemini surfactants are one such moiety and because of their favourable physicochemical properties (double positive ...

Controllable aggregate transitions were realized by mixing two kinds of cationic surfactants, hexylene-1,6-bis(dodecyldimethylammonium bromide) (C(12)C(6)C(12)Br(2)) and didodecyldimethylammonium bromide (DDAB). It was found that two parameters are the main factors determining the aggregation behavior of the mixed system, the total concentration of DDAB and C(12)C(6)C(12)Br(2) (C(T)), and the m...

A novel synthetic approach was developed for creating versatile hollow Au nanostructures by stepwise reductions of Au(III) upon the use of cationic gemini surfactant hexamethylene-1,6-bis(dodecyl dimethylammonium bromide) (C12C6C12Br2) as a template agent. It was observed that the Au(I) ions obtained from the reduction of Au(III) by ascorbic acid can assist the gemini surfactant to form vesicle...