The critical micelle concentration of some physiologically important fatty acyl-coenzyme A's as a function of chain length.

The critical micelle concentration (CMC) of a series of saturated fatty acyl-CoAs have been determined using a fluorescent titration method with 2-toluidinylnaphthalene-6-sulfonate as a probe. The CMC was found to be a function of the number of carbon atoms in the acyl chain over the range tested (12 to 18). A double bond has the effect on the CMC of decreasing the acyl chain by 1.6 carbon atoms. Knowledge that the CMC of each of these fatty acyl-CoAs is a function of the acyl chain length and the availability of a simple and appropriate method for the estimation of this property under other conditions should be of importance in designing and interpreting in vitro experiments with these compounds.