title: Formation and Characterization of Reversed Micelles Composed of Phospholipids and Fatty Acids.
abstract: The formation of reversed micellar systems composed of phosphatidylcholine (PC) and fatty acid was newly demonstrated by a significant increase in water content in the organic ethyl oleate phase when the micelles were prepared by the contact method. The solubilized water concentration in the reversed micellar organic phase reached 3 wt%. The new systems are expected to be used as highly biocompatible reversed micellar systems. The structure of the reversed micelles composed of PC and oleic acid was characterized by determining the water concentration and by small-angle X-ray scattering analysis. The reversed micelles composed of PC and oleic acid formed in ethyl oleate were spherical. The radius of gyration was between 30 and 50 Å. The size of the reversed micelles decreased with an increase in the oleic acid concentration and was independent of the PC concentration. Experimental results indicated that the structure of the reversed micellar system was determined by the oleic acid concentration. An increase in the PC concentration caused an increase in the number of reversed micelles of the same size. These reversed micellar systems are expected to be used as solubilization media in pharmaceutical and food industries because they are not toxic. Copyright 2001 Academic Press.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry and Biotechnology, The University of Tokyo, Hongo 7-3-1, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, 113-8656, Japan
authors.forename: Shinji
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sugiura
authors.forename: Sosaku
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ichikawa
authors.forename: Yoh
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Sano
authors.forename: Mitsutoshi
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Nakajima
authors.forename: Xin Qi
authors.initials: XQ
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Minoru
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Seki
authors.forename: Shintaro
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Furusaki