Surfactants and their applications in nanoparticle synthesis and drug delivery systems

大多数人都知道油和水不能混合。取一汤匙食用油，放在一杯水中，看看会发生什么。但是，可以使用另一种物质使油和水的混合物混合；事实上，我们做蛋黄酱就是这么做的。这个过程被称为乳化，是某些被称为表面活性剂的物质的主要用途。这些材料同时具有亲水和憎水的特性。表面活性剂被配制成大量的消费品，如洗发水、洗衣剂和餐具洗涤剂，并与工业生产的许多方面密切相关。表面活性剂的乳化和工业应用主要集中在使水不溶性物质溶解，和/或从表面“提升”油性物质的能力上。尽管用途广泛而多样，但许多常见的表面活性剂具有相同的基本化学结构。我们的研究项目涉及具有独特化学结构的新型表面活性剂的合成，可能使它们在商业配方中表现更好，对环境的破坏更小。我们目前正致力于合成具有优异的硬水耐受性（无皂渣，在硬水中起泡能力好）和优异的洗涤剂性能的表面活性剂。我们还将把注意力转向环保洗涤剂和干洗工艺新材料的生产和表征。这些可能最终导致新配方和新产品在消费者应用中具有优越的清洁性能，并为工业配方提供更好的乳化剂。

Most people know that oil and water do not mix. Take a tablespoon of cooking oil and place it in a glass of water and see what happens. However, it is possible to make a mixture of oil and water mix by using another substance; in fact, that is what we do when we make mayonnaise. This process, called emulsification, is a primary use of certain substances called surfactants (for surface active agents). These materials possess both water loving (hydrophilic) and water-hating (hydrophobic) characteristics. Surfactants are formulated into a vast array of consumer products such as shampoos, laundry detergents, and dish detergents, and are intimately involved in a number of facets of industrial production. Emulsification and industrial applications of surfactants are mainly focused on the ability to make water insoluble materials soluble, and/or 'lift' oily materials from surfaces. Despite the wide and varied usage, many common surfactants have the same basic chemical structure. Our research program deals with the synthesis of new surfactants that have unique chemical structures, possibly making them perform better in commercial formulations with less damaging consequences to the environment. We are currently focusing our efforts on synthesizing surfactants that have superior hard water tolerance (no soap scum and good foaming ability in hard water) and excellent detergent properties. We will also be turning our attention to the production and characterization of new materials for environmentally friendly detergents and dry cleaning processes. These may eventually lead to new formulations and new products that have superior cleansing properties in consumer applications and better emulsifiers for industrial formulation.