Synthesis, micellization and cytotoxic studies of ester-functionalized imidazolium gemini surfactants

The fatty acid-based imidazolium gemini surfactants containing hydroxy-substituted spacers were synthesized and characterized by different spectral techniques. The micellization behavior of product compounds was studied by determining their critical micelle concentration (cmc) values from steady state fluorescence and conductivity measurements. The thermodynamic parameters of micellization of synthesized gemini surfactants confirmed that the micelle formation is a thermodynamically favorable, endothermic and an entropy driven phenomenon. The surfactants were further analyzed for their cytotoxic nature by treating them upon human embryonic kidney cell (HEK-293) line and were found to be significantly low cytotoxic. The interesting features like low cmc values, non-cytotoxic and eco-friendly nature of the gemini surfactants may offer new and more efficient substitutes to the conventional drug delivery systems. Thus the gemini surfactants may serve as promising candidates in the biomedical and pharmaceutical fields.

Automated summary

The fatty acid-based imidazolium gemini surfactants with hydroxy-substituted spacers were synthesized and characterized, and their micellization behavior and cytotoxicity were studied. The results showed that these gemini surfactants have low cytotoxicity, environmental friendliness, and potential as substitutes for conventional drug delivery systems.