Formation and Solubilization Property of Water-in-Oil Microemulsions of Alkyl Glucosides

The dependence of solubilization properties on the alkyl chain length of alkyl glucosides (AG) in AG/isooctane/ n-butanol/water system was investigated. The stable Winsor II system consisting of a water-in-oil (w/o) microemulsion phase and an aqueous phase was formed in AG/isooctane/n-butanol/water system. The apparent critical micelle concentration of AG reverse micelles in organic phases was markedly dependent upon the alkyl chain length of AG. The limiting amount of solubilized water increased with an increase in the alkyl chain length of AG. The solubilization capacity of methyl orange (MO) was superior to that of methylene blue (MB), and the solubilization capacities of MO and MB tended to increase with increasing the alkyl chain length of AG. Reverse micelles of dodecyl glucoside (AG12) exhibited the significant solubilization capacities of cytochrome c and lysozyme, while ribonuclease A was not solubilized by AG12 reverse micelles.