curcumin and dodecyltrimethylammonium

The interaction between dodecyltrimethylammonium bromide (DTAB) and curcumin has been studied in pH 5.0 sodium phosphate buffer using absorption and fluorescence measurements. With increasing DTAB concentration (C(DTAB)) from 0 to 20 mM, the absorption peak of curcumin at 430 nm, corresponding to the conjugated structure of curcumin, first weakens gradually into a shoulder but increases back into one peak with much higher absorption intensity. On the contrary, as C(DTAB) increases, the initial small absorption shoulder of curcumin at 355 nm, corresponding to the feruloyl unit of curcumin, first increases gradually into a clear peak but decreases back into one shoulder until almost disappeared finally. By remaining at nearly the same wavelength, the fluorescence of curcumin first decreases at C(DTAB) lower than 5 mM and then increases gradually up to C(DTAB) = 10 mM, which is followed by sharp increases of fluorescence intensity with marked blue-shifts at higher C(DTAB). The values of anisotropy and microviscosity of curcumin obtained from the fluorescence polarization technique also showed pronounced changes at different surfactant concentrations. The interaction mechanisms of DTAB with curcumin have been presented at low, intermediate, and high surfactant concentrations, which is relating to interaction forces, surfactant aggregations, as well as structural alterations of curcumin.

Topics: Curcumin; Electric Conductivity; Fluorescence Polarization; Quaternary Ammonium Compounds; Spectrometry, Fluorescence; Spectrophotometry

Femtosecond fluorescence upconversion experiments were performed on the naturally occurring medicinal pigment, curcumin, in anionic, cationic, and neutral micelles. In our studies, the micelles are composed of sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS), dodecyl trimethyl ammonium bromide (DTAB), and triton X-100 (TX-100). We demonstrate that the excited-state kinetics of curcumin in micelles have a fast (3-8 ps) and slow (50-80 ps) component. While deuteration of curcumin has a negligible effect on the fast component, the slow component exhibits a pronounced isotope effect of approximately 1.6, indicating that micelle-captured curcumin undergoes excited-state intramolecular hydrogen atom transfer. Studies of solvation dynamics of curcumin in a 10 ps time window reveal a fast component (< or = 300 fs) followed by a 8, 6, and 3 ps component in the solvation correlation function for the TX-100, DTAB, and SDS micelles, respectively.

Topics: Curcumin; Hydrogen; Micelles; Octoxynol; Quaternary Ammonium Compounds; Sodium Dodecyl Sulfate; Spectrometry, Fluorescence; Spectrophotometry, Ultraviolet; Surface-Active Agents; Time Factors