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。然而，它可以使油和水的混合物混合使用另一种物质;事实上，这就是我们做蛋黄酱时所做的。这个过程称为乳化，主要使用某些称为表面活性剂（表面活性剂）的物质。这些材料同时具有亲水性和憎水性。表面活性剂被配制成大量的消费品，如洗发水、洗衣洗涤剂和餐具洗涤剂，并且密切涉及工业生产的许多方面。表面活性剂的乳化和工业应用主要集中在使水不溶性材料溶解和/或从表面“提升”油性材料的能力。尽管用途广泛，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，对环境的破坏性更小。目前，我们正致力于合成具有上级耐硬水性（在硬水中无皂垢和良好起泡能力）和优异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的新材料的生产和表征。这些可能最终导致在消费者应用中具有上级清洁性能和用于工业制剂的更好乳化剂的新制剂和新产品。

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.