Aqueous phase behavior of isosorbide-based non-ionic surfactants

Three non-ionic surfactants have been synthesized from isosorbide, a readily available molecule from renewable resources. As isosorbide is a rigid diol, it allows grafting an aliphatic chain on one hydroxyl and various hydrophilic heads on the other one, thus acting as a rigid hydrophilic linker. In this study, the three surfactants possess a dodecyl alkyl chain and triethyleneglycol and glycerol have been coupled to isosorbide to provide the non-ionic polar groups. The effect of the insertion of an isosorbide moiety has been evaluated through the study of the aqueous phase behaviors of the compounds and particularly the formation of lyotropic liquid crystal phases.

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► Synthesis of three new non-ionic surfactants derived from isosorbide (Iso).
► Isododecyl ethers ethoxylated C12IsoE3 or glycerylated C12IsoGly, C12IsoGlyIso.
► Aqueous phase behavior of C12IsoE3 ≈ C12E5.
► C12IsoGly and C12IsoGlyIso: polar lipids forming cubic and lamellar liquid crystals.
► Iso = rigid hydrophilic fragment ≈ E2 when inserted between apolar and polar parts.