Polycyclic hydrocarbon and polychlorinated biphenyl solubilization in aqueous solutions of mixed micelles.

To determine the physiochemical behavior of xenobiotic hydrocarbons in simulated intestinal content, we examined the partition of 7,12-dimethylbenzanthracene (DMBA), 3-methyl cholanthrene (MC), benzo(a)pyrene, and a polychlorinated biphenyl compound (PCB, Aroclor 1242) between an emulsified oil phase and a mixed micellar solution. In a mixed lipid-bile salt system, negligible amounts of hydrocarbon were present in aqueous solution below the critical micellar concentration (CMC) of sodium taurocholate. Once the CMC was obtained, the 4 hydrocarbons exhibited nearly identical partitions from the lipid into the micellar system which was enhanced by increased concentrations of bile salt, reduction of triglyceride concentration and the formation of mixed rather than pure bile salt micelles. The partition of DMBA and MC into micelles was optimized by long-chain monounsaturated oleic acid and monooleoylglycerol as compared to their octanoic or linoleic counterparts. Linoleic acid and monolinoleoylglycerol maximized the partition of PCB from the oil into the micellar phase. In a mixed micellar system excluding an oil phase and an excess of DMBA, a molar saturation ratio (mol hydrocarbon:mol bile salt) was calculated by regression analysis to be 0.162. This indicates that more than one molecule of hydrocarbon is solubilized per mixed micelle and that the aqueous solubilization of hydrocarbon may be attributed to true micellar solubilization.