Bilayer structures in dioctadecyldimethylammonium bromide/oleic acid dispersions

This paper reports on the properties of bilayers composed of dioctadecyldimethylammonium bromide (DODAB) and oleic acid (OA) at various molar ratios. The mole fraction of OA, XOA, was varied in the range of 0–1 and the total lipid content was constant and equal to 10 mM. The DODAB/OA dispersions were extruded at a temperature higher than that of the gel–liquid transition of DODAB. The morphology of bilayer structures formed in the dispersions was inspected using a cryogenic transmission electron microscopy (cryo-TEM) and a differential interference contrast microscopy (DIC). The observations revealed that the incorporation of OA into DODAB bilayer results in a decrease of the membrane curvature. Anisotropy measurements using 1,6-diphenylhexatriene (DPH) as a rotator probe demonstrated that the DODAB/OA membrane microviscosity decreased considerably for XOA > 0.4. The thermal behavior of DODAB/OA membranes has been studied by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). In the case of the systems in which XOA < 0.8, the DODAB/OA membranes are in the gel phase at room temperature. Additionally, Langmuir monolayer experiments of the DODAB/OA mixtures showed that due to the electrostatic interactions between the oppositely charged head groups of DODAB and OA they get close to each other, which results in a decrease of the mean area per molecule. The results were next discussed based on the packing parameter concept. The reduction of the mean area per head group (a) in the DODAB/OA systems leads to subsequent increase in the so-called packing parameter (S), which governs the morphology of surfactant aggregates.

► Oleic acid as an additive to improve morphology of DODAB bilayer.
► The presence of oleic acid in DODAB membrane causes its condensation.
► Formation of faceted vesicles or planar bilayer fragments in DODAB–oleic acid systems.