Department of Chemistry, Harvey Mudd College, Claremont, California 91711, United States.
J Phys Chem B. 2012 Mar 29;116(12):3816-22. doi: 10.1021/jp208097c. Epub 2012 Mar 15.
When mixed with water, n-octyl β-D-glucoside forms self-assembled nanostructures, several of which are liquid crystalline and all of which depend on the water/glucoside ratio and temperature. For practical use of these phases, a detailed understanding of the conditions under which they exist (i.e., the isobaric phase diagram) is required. We use the fluorescence of the dye molecule prodan as a new approach to probe the phases formed in these mixtures. The prodan fluorescence signal depends on the polarity of its environment and thus the phase(s) in which the dye exists. Visual inspection of the total fluorescence signal can qualitatively determine the phases present, including coexisting phases. Temperature-induced phase changes are also detected from variations observed in the prodan fluorescence spectrum. The sensitivity of this new technique allows the single- and multiple-phase regions to be mapped carefully for the first time.
当与水混合时，正辛基-β-D-吡喃葡萄糖苷形成自组装纳米结构，其中有几个是液晶相，所有这些都取决于水/葡萄糖苷的比例和温度。为了实际应用这些相，需要详细了解它们存在的条件（即等压相图）。我们使用染料分子 prodan 的荧光作为一种新的方法来探测这些混合物中形成的相。prodan 的荧光信号取决于其环境的极性，因此取决于染料存在的相。通过观察总荧光信号可以定性地确定存在的相，包括共存相。从观察到的 prodan 荧光光谱的变化也可以检测到温度诱导的相变化。这种新技术的灵敏度使得首次能够仔细绘制单相区和多相区。
