Surfactants: physicochemical interactions with biological macromolecules

Macromolecules are essential cellular components in biological systems responsible for performing a large number of functions that are necessary for growth and perseverance of living organisms. Proteins, lipids and carbohydrates are three major classes of biological macromolecules. To predict the st...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Hortencia Silva-Jiménez, Ibrahim M. Banat, Mayri Alejandra Díaz de Rienzo, Marisela Aguirre-Ramírez
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Estado:Versión publicada
Fecha de publicación:2021
País:México
Institución:Universidad Autónoma de Ciudad Juárez
Repositorio:Repositorio Institucional de la Universidad Autónoma de Ciudad Juárez
Idioma:español
OAI Identifier:oai:uacj.mx:oai:cathi.uacj.mx:20.500.11961ir-21027
Acceso en línea:https://doi.org/10.1007/s10529-020-03054-1
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Surfactants
Macromolecules
Biological systems
Molecular interactions
info:eu-repo/classification/cti/2
Descripción
Sumario:Macromolecules are essential cellular components in biological systems responsible for performing a large number of functions that are necessary for growth and perseverance of living organisms. Proteins, lipids and carbohydrates are three major classes of biological macromolecules. To predict the structure, function, and behaviour of any cluster of macromolecules, it is necessary to understand the interaction between them and other components through basic principles of chemistry and physics. An important number of macromolecules are present in mixtures with surfactants, where a combi- nation of hydrophobic and electrostatic interactions is responsible for the specific properties of any solution. It has been demonstrated that surfactants can help the formation of helices in some proteins thereby promot- ing protein structure formation. On the other hand, there is extensive research towards the use of surfac- tants to solubilize drugs and pharmaceuticals; there- fore, it is evident that the interaction between surfactants with macromolecules is important for many applications which includes environmental processes and the pharmaceutical industry. In this review, we describe the properties of different types of surfactants that are relevant for their physicochemical interactions with biological macromolecules, from macromolecules–surfactant complexes to hydrophobic and electrostatic interactions.