Determination of surfactant critical micelle concentration by a novel fluorescence depolarization technique.

A novel method using fluorescence depolarization to determine the critical micelle concentrations (CMC) of surfactants was developed. Fluorescence anisotropies of Triton X-100, sodium dodecyl sulfate, and sodium cholate were measured using 1,6-diphenyl-1,3, 5-hexatriene as a fluorescence probe. Fluorescence anisotropy decreased with increasing surfactant concentrations below the CMC and leveled off above the CMC. The depolarization method does not depend on the concentration of DPH and is largely immune to light-scattering problems encountered in turbid aqueous systems.