Structural characterization of biocompatible reverse micelles using Small-Angle X-ray Scattering, 31P Nuclear Magnetic Resonance, and Fluorescence Spectroscopy

The most critical problem regarding the use of reverse micelles (RMs) in several fields is the toxicity of their partial components. In this sense, many efforts have been made to characterize nontoxic RM formulations on the basis of biological amphiphiles and/or different oils. In this contribution, the microstructure of biocompatible mixed RMs formulated by sodium 1,4-bis-2-ethylhexylsulfosuccinate (AOT) and tri-n-octylphosphine oxide (TOPO) surfactants dispersed in the friendly solvent methyl laurate was studied by using SAXS and 31P NMR and by following the solvatochromic behavior of the molecular probe 4-aminophthalimide (4-AP). The results indicated the presence of RM aggregates upon TOPO incorporation with a droplet size reduction and an increase in the interfacial fluidity in comparison with pure AOT RMs. When confined inside the mixed systems, 4-AP showed a red-edge excitation shift and confirmed the increment of interfacial fluidity upon TOPO addition. Also, the partition between the external nonpolar solvent and the RM interface and an increase in both the local micropolarity and the capability to form a hydrogen bond interaction between 4-AP and a mixed interface were observed. The findings have been explained in terms of the nonionic surfactant structure and its complexing nature expressed at the interfacial level. Notably, we show how two different approaches, i.e., SAXS and the solvatochromism of the probe 4-AP, can be used in a complementary way to enhance our understanding of the interfacial fluidity of RMs, a parameter that is difficult to measure directly.Fil: Odella, Emmanuel. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Río Cuarto. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas Fisicoquímicas y Naturales. Departamento de Química; ArgentinaFil: Falcone, Ruben Dario. Universidad Nacional de Río Cuarto. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas Fisicoquímicas y Naturales. Departamento de Química; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba; ArgentinaFil: Ceolín, Marcelo. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata. Instituto de Investigaciones Fisicoquímicas Teóricas y Aplicadas. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas. Instituto de Investigaciones Fisicoquímicas Teóricas y Aplicadas; ArgentinaFil: Silber, Juana J.. Universidad Nacional de Río Cuarto. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas Fisicoquímicas y Naturales. Departamento de Química; ArgentinaFil: Correa, Nestor Mariano. Universidad Nacional de Río Cuarto. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas Fisicoquímicas y Naturales. Departamento de Química; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba; Argentin

Amphiphilic ionic liquids as sustainable components to formulate promising vesicles to be used in nanomedicine

Ionic Liquids (ILs) are an interesting category of compounds particularly because of the possibility to easily synthesize them with different attractive properties, in the lab. The interest for ILs with amphiphilic character (IL-like surfactants) has been growing up because of versatility in creating useful supramolecular assemblies. In this short review, the current state of IL-like surfactants to prepare vesicles in water is described. Particularly, the focus has been put on the experiments performed by South American researchers using protic and aprotic surfactants. Finally, it summarizes some preliminary results obtained in our lab about the application in nanomedicine that these novel vesicles can offer.Fil: Falcone, Ruben Dario. Universidad Nacional de Río Cuarto. Instituto para el Desarrollo Agroindustrial y de la Salud. - Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba. Instituto para el Desarrollo Agroindustrial y de la Salud; ArgentinaFil: Correa, Nestor Mariano. Universidad Nacional de Río Cuarto. Instituto para el Desarrollo Agroindustrial y de la Salud. - Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba. Instituto para el Desarrollo Agroindustrial y de la Salud; ArgentinaFil: Silber, Juana J.. Universidad Nacional de Río Cuarto. Instituto para el Desarrollo Agroindustrial y de la Salud. - Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba. Instituto para el Desarrollo Agroindustrial y de la Salud; Argentin

Nonaqueous polar solvents in reverse micelle systems

The self-assembly of amphiphiles in the absence of water is studied. The assembly of amphiphiles into microemulsions and reverse micelles in nonpolar solvents while sequestering a polar nonaqueous core is discussed. Fletcher et al. used dynamic light scattering (DLS) and viscosimetry to study thermodynamically stable AOT stabilized dispersions of GY in n-heptane. Sarkar and co-workers have probed GY/AOT/isooctane reverse micelles through steady-state and time-resolved fluorescence spectroscopy of two solvatochromic dyes, coumarin 480 and coumarin 490. Martino and Kaler reported the effect on microemulsion phase behavior and microstructure occurring when replacing water with PG, GY, and their mixtures in systems made with the nonionic surfactants pentaethylene glycol mono-n-decyl ether (C10E5). Mehta et al. have explored phase diagrams for several nonaqueous polar solvents in AOT/hexane.Fil: Correa, Nestor Mariano. Universidad Nacional de Río Cuarto. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas Fisicoquímicas y Naturales. Departamento de Química; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Río Cuarto. Instituto para el Desarrollo Agroindustrial y de la Salud. - Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba. Instituto para el Desarrollo Agroindustrial y de la Salud; ArgentinaFil: Silber, Juana J.. Universidad Nacional de Río Cuarto. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas Fisicoquímicas y Naturales. Departamento de Química; ArgentinaFil: Riter, Ruth E.. Agnes Scott College. Department of Chemistry; Estados UnidosFil: Levinger, Nancy E.. Colorado State University ; Estados Unido

Catanionic reverse micelles as an optimal microenvironment to alter the water electron donor capacity in a SN2 reaction

The effect of interfacial water entrapped in two types of catanionic reverse micelles (RMs) on the kinetic parameters of the SN2 reaction between dimethyl-4-nitrophenylsulfonium trifluoromethanesulfonate (S+) and n-butylamine (BuNH2) was explored. Two catanionic surfactants, composed of a mixture of oppositely charged ionic surfactants without their original counterions, were used to create the RMs. Thus, benzyl-n-hexadecyldimethylammonium 1,4-bis(2-ethylhexyl) sulfosuccinate (BHD-AOT) and cetyltrimethylammonium 1,4-bis(2-ethylhexyl) sulfosuccinate (CTA-AOT) were formed. Also, the well-known anionic surfactant sodium 1,4-bis(2-ethylhexyl) sulfosuccinate (Na-AOT) was employed as a comparison. Our results showed an important catalytic-like effect of all RMs investigated in comparison with a water-benzene mixture, and the rate constant values depend on the type of surfactant used. Faster reaction in BHD-AOT RMs than in CTA-AOT and Na-AOT RMs was observed. This behavior was attributed to the strong interaction (by hydrogen bonding with AOT anion and ion-dipole interaction with BHD+) between the entrapped water and the BHD-AOT interface, which reduces the solvation capacity of water on S+. In CTA-AOT (and Na-AOT) RMs, the water-interface interaction is weaker and the electron pairs of water can solvate S+ ions. In summary, the chemical structure of the counterion on the catanionic surfactant alters the interfacial region, allowing the progress of a reaction inside the RMs to be controlled. ©Fil: Villa, Cristian C.. Universidad del Quindio; ColombiaFil: Correa, Nestor Mariano. Universidad Nacional de Río Cuarto. Instituto para el Desarrollo Agroindustrial y de la Salud. - Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba. Instituto para el Desarrollo Agroindustrial y de la Salud; ArgentinaFil: Silber, Juana J.. Universidad Nacional de Río Cuarto. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas Fisicoquímicas y Naturales. Departamento de Química; ArgentinaFil: Falcone, Ruben Dario. Universidad Nacional de Río Cuarto. Instituto para el Desarrollo Agroindustrial y de la Salud. - Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba. Instituto para el Desarrollo Agroindustrial y de la Salud; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Río Cuarto. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas Fisicoquímicas y Naturales. Departamento de Química; Argentin

The Effect of Different Interfaces and Confinement on the Structure of the Ionic Liquid 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide Entrapped in Cationic and Anionic Reverse Micelles.

The behavior of the ionic liquid (IL) 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide ([bmim][Tf 2N]) entrapped in two reverse micelles (RMs) formed in an aromatic solvent as dispersant pseudophase: [bmim][Tf 2N]/benzyl-n-hexadecyldimethylammonium chloride (BHDC)/chlorobenzene and [bmim][Tf 2N]/sodium 1,4-bis-2- ethylhexylsulfosuccinate (AOT)/chlorobenzene, was investigated using dynamic light scattering (DLS), FT-IR and 1H NMR spectroscopies. DLS results reveal the formation of RMs containing [bmim][Tf 2N] as a polar component since the droplet size values increase as the W s (W s = [[bmim][Tf 2N]]/[surfactant]) increases. Furthermore, it shows that the RMs consist of discrete spherical and non-interacting droplets of [bmim][Tf 2N] stabilized by the surfactants. Important differences in the structure of [bmim][Tf 2N] entrapped inside BHDC RMs, in comparison with the neat IL, are observed from the FT-IR and 1H NMR measurements. The electrostatic interactions between anions and cations from [bmim][Tf 2N] and BHDC determine the solvent structure encapsulated inside the nano-droplets. It seems that the IL structure is disrupted due to the electrostatic interaction between the [Tf 2N] - and the cationic BHDC polar head (BHD +) giving a high ion pair degree between BHD + and [Tf 2N] - at a low IL content. On the other hand, for the AOT RMs there is no evidence of strong IL-surfactant interaction. The electrostatic interaction between the SO 3 - group and the Na + counterion in AOT seems to be stronger than the possible [bmim] +-SO 3 - interaction at the interface. Thus, the structure of [bmim][Tf 2N] encapsulated is not particularly disrupted by the anionic surfactant at all W s studied, in contrast to the BHDC RM results. Nevertheless, there is evidence of confinement in the AOT RMs because the [bmim] +-[Tf 2N] - interaction is stronger than in bulk solution. Thus, the IL is more associated upon confinement. Our results reveal that the [bmim][Tf 2N] structure can be modified in a different manner inside RMs by varying the kind of surfactant used to create the RMs and the IL content (W s). These facts can be very important if these media are used as nanoreactors because unique microenvironments can be easily created by simply changing the RM components and W s.Fil: Ferreyra, Darío David. Universidad Nacional de Río Cuarto. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas Fisicoquímicas y Naturales. Departamento de Química; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba; ArgentinaFil: Correa, Nestor Mariano. Universidad Nacional de Río Cuarto. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas Fisicoquímicas y Naturales. Departamento de Química; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba; ArgentinaFil: Silber, Juana J.. Universidad Nacional de Río Cuarto. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas Fisicoquímicas y Naturales. Departamento de Química; ArgentinaFil: Falcone, Ruben Dario. Universidad Nacional de Río Cuarto. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas Fisicoquímicas y Naturales. Departamento de Química; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba; Argentin

Solvent blends can control cationic reversed micellar interdroplet interactions. the effect of n- heptane:Benzene mixture on BHDC reversed micellar interfacial properties: Droplet sizes and micropolarity

We have investigated, for the first time, the effect of the composition of the nonpolar organic media on the benzyl-n-hexadecyl-dimethylammonium chloride (BHDC) reversed micelles (RMs) properties at fixed temperature. To achieve this goal we have used the solvatochromic behavior of 1-methyl-8-oxyquinolinium betaine (QB) as absorption probe and dynamic light scattering (DLS), to monitor droplet sizes, interfacial micropolarity, and sequestrated water structure of water/BHDC/n-heptane:benzene RMs. DLS results confirm the formation of the water/BHDC/n-heptane:benzene RMs at every n-heptane mole fraction (X Hp) investigated, that is, XHp = 0.00, 0.13, 0.21, 0.30, and 0.38. Also, DLS was used to measure the RMs diffusion coefficient and to calculate the apparent droplet hydrodynamic diameter (dApp) at different compositions of the nonpolar organic medium. The data suggest that as the n-heptane content increases, the interdroplet attractive interactions also increase with the consequent increment in the droplet size. Moreover, the interdroplet attractive interactions can be "switched on (increased)" or "switched off (decreased)" by formulation of appropriate n-heptane:benzene mixtures. Additionally, QB spectroscopy was used to obtain the "operational" critical micellar concentration (cmc) and to investigate both the RMs interfacial micropolarity and the sequestrated water structure in every RMs studied. The results show that BHDC RMs are formed at lower surfactant concentration when n-heptane or water content increases. When the interdroplet interaction "switches on", the RMs droplet sizes growth expelling benzene molecules from the RMs interface, favoring the water-BHDC interaction at the interface with the consequent increases in the interfacial micropolarity. Therefore, changing the solvent blend is possible to affect dramatically the interfacial micropolarity, the droplet sizes and the structure of the entrapped water.Fil: Agazzi, Federico Martin. Universidad Nacional de Río Cuarto. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas Fisicoquímicas y Naturales. Departamento de Química; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba; ArgentinaFil: Falcone, Ruben Dario. Universidad Nacional de Río Cuarto. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas Fisicoquímicas y Naturales. Departamento de Química; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba; ArgentinaFil: Silber, Juana J.. Universidad Nacional de Río Cuarto. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas Fisicoquímicas y Naturales. Departamento de Química; ArgentinaFil: Correa, Nestor Mariano. Universidad Nacional de Río Cuarto. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas Fisicoquímicas y Naturales. Departamento de Química; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba; Argentin

How the cation 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium impacts the interaction between the entrapped water and the reverse micelle interface created with an ionic liquid-like surfactant

The behavior of the interfacial water entrapped in reverse micelles (RMs) formed by the ionic liquid-like surfactant 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium 1,4-bis-2-ethylhexylsulfosuccinate (bmim-AOT) dissolved in benzene (or chlorobenzene) was investigated using noninvasive techniques such as dynamic light scattering (DLS), static light scattering (SLS), FT-IR and 1H NMR. The DLS and SLS results reveal the formation of discrete spherical and non-interacting water droplets stabilized by the bmim-AOT surfactant. Moreover, since the droplet size increases as the W0 (W0 = [water]/[surfactant]) value increases, water interacts with the RM interface. From FT-IR and 1H NMR data, a weaker water-surfactant interaction in bmim-AOT RMs in comparison with the RMs created by sodium 1,4-bis-2-ethylhexylsulfosuccinate (Na-AOT) is detected. Consequently, there are less water molecules interacting with the interface in bmim-AOT RMs, and their hydrogen bond network is not completely disrupted as they are in Na-AOT RMs. The results show how the nature of the new cation impacts the interaction between the entrapped water and the RM interface, modifying the interfacial water structure in comparison with the results known for Na-AOT.Fil: Lépori, Cristian Marcelo Oscar. Universidad Nacional de Río Cuarto. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas Fisicoquímicas y Naturales. Departamento de Química; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba; ArgentinaFil: Correa, Nestor Mariano. Universidad Nacional de Río Cuarto. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas Fisicoquímicas y Naturales. Departamento de Química; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba; ArgentinaFil: Silber, Juana J.. Universidad Nacional de Río Cuarto. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas Fisicoquímicas y Naturales. Departamento de Química; ArgentinaFil: Falcone, R. Darío. Universidad Nacional de Río Cuarto. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas Fisicoquímicas y Naturales. Departamento de Química; Argentin

Biocompatible Solvents and Ionic Liquid-Based Surfactants as Sustainable Components to Formulate Environmentally Friendly Organized Systems

In this review, we deal with the formation and application of biocompatible water-in-oil microemulsions commonly known as reverse micelles (RMs). These RMs are extremely important to facilitate the dissolution of hydrophilic and hydrophobic compounds for biocompatibility in applications in drug delivery, food science, and nanomedicine. The combination of two wisely chosen types of compounds such as biocompatible non-polar solvents and ionic liquids (ILs) with amphiphilic character (surface-active ionic liquids, SAILs) can be used to generate organized systems that perfectly align with the Green Chemistry concepts. Thus, we describe the current state of SAILs (protic and aprotic) to prepare RMs using non-polar but safe solvents such as esters derived from fatty acids, among others. Moreover, the use of the biocompatible solvents as the external phase in RMs and microemulsions/nanoemulsions with the other commonly used biocompatible surfactants is detailed showing the diversity of preparations and important applications. As shown by multiple examples, the properties of the RMs can be modified by changes in the type of surfactant and/or external solvents but a key fact to note is that all these modifications generate novel systems with dissimilar properties. These interesting properties cannot be anticipated or extrapolated, and deep analysis is always required. Finally, the works presented provide valuable information about the use of biocompatible RMs, making them a green and promising alternative toward efficient and sustainable chemistryFinancial support was received from the Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (PIP CONICET 112-2015-0100283), Universidad Nacional de Río Cuarto (PPI-UNRC 2016–2019, 2020–2022), Agencia Nacional de Promoción Científica y Técnica (PICT 2015-0585, PICT 2018-0508), and Ministerio de Ciencia y Tecnología, Gobierno de la Provincia de Córdoba (PID 2018) is gratefully acknowledged. R.D.F., N.M.C. and J.J.S. hold a research position at CONICET. N.D. and C.M.O.L. thank CONICET for a research fellowship. L.G.-R. thanks the Ministerio de Economia y Competitividad of Spain (project CTQ2017-84354-P), Xunta de Galicia (GR 2007/085; IN607C 2016/03 and Centro singular de investigación de Galicia accreditation 2016–2019, ED431G/09), and the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) is gratefully acknowledgedS

Use of Ionic Liquids-like Surfactants for the Generation of Unilamellar Vesicles with Potential Applications in Biomedicine

The goal of this work is to understand the influence of the counterion nature on the organized systems formed by 1,4-bis-2-ethylhexylsulfosuccinate surfactants in aqueous solutions and how these aggregates will influence the deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA)-surfactant interactions. With this in mind, two ionic liquid-like surfactants were investigated: 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium 1,4-bis-2-ethylhexylsulfosuccinate (bmim-AOT) and 1-hexyl-3-methylimidazolium 1,4-bis-2-ethylhexylsulfosuccinate (hmim-AOT). Measurements of dynamic light scattering, ζ-potential, transmission electron microscopy, and fluorescence and UV-visible spectroscopy were performed to study the characteristics of the vesicles formed by bmim-AOT and hmim-AOT. Regarding the determination of the interaction of the surfactants with DNA, circular dichroism was used. The results obtained showed that bmim-AOT and hmim-AOT ionic liquid-like surfactants spontaneously form unilamellar vesicles in water at very low surfactant concentrations. The characteristics of these aggregates are dependent on the length of the tail of the counterions. The length of the hydrophobic chains of the counterions also influences the DNA-surfactant interactions through hydrophobic effects.Fil: Lépori, Cristian Marcelo Oscar. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba. Instituto de Física Enrique Gaviola. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Instituto de Física Enrique Gaviola; ArgentinaFil: Correa, Nestor Mariano. Universidad Nacional de Río Cuarto. Instituto para el Desarrollo Agroindustrial y de la Salud. - Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba. Instituto para el Desarrollo Agroindustrial y de la Salud; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Río Cuarto. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas Fisicoquímicas y Naturales. Departamento de Química; ArgentinaFil: Silber, Juana J.. Universidad Nacional de Río Cuarto. Instituto para el Desarrollo Agroindustrial y de la Salud. - Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba. Instituto para el Desarrollo Agroindustrial y de la Salud; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Río Cuarto. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas Fisicoquímicas y Naturales. Departamento de Química; ArgentinaFil: Falcone, Ruben Dario. Universidad Nacional de Río Cuarto. Instituto para el Desarrollo Agroindustrial y de la Salud. - Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba. Instituto para el Desarrollo Agroindustrial y de la Salud; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Río Cuarto. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas Fisicoquímicas y Naturales. Departamento de Química; ArgentinaFil: López López, Manuel. Universidad de Huelva; EspañaFil: Moyá, María Luisa. Universidad de Sevilla; Españ

Layered structure of room-temperature ionic liquids in microemulsions by multinuclear NMR spectroscopic studies

Microemulsions form in mixtures of polar, nonpolar, and amphiphilic molecules. Typical microemulsions employ water as the polar phase. However, microemulsions can form with a polar phase other than water, which hold promise to diversify the range of properties, and hence utility, of microemulsions. Here microemulsions formed by using a room-temperature ionic liquid (RTIL) as the polar phase were created and characterized by using multinuclear NMR spectroscopy. 1H, 11B, and 19F NMR spectroscopy was applied to explore differences between microemulsions formed by using 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate ([bmim][BF4]) as the polar phase with a cationic surfactant, benzylhexadecyldimethylammonium chloride (BHDC), and a nonionic surfactant, Triton X-100 (TX-100). NMR spectroscopy showed distinct differences in the behavior of the RTIL as the charge of the surfactant head group varies in the different microemulsion environments. Minor changes in the chemical shifts were observed for [bmim]+ and [BF 4]- in the presence of TX-100 suggesting that the surfactant and the ionic liquid are separated in the microemulsion. The large changes in spectroscopic parameters observed are consistent with microstructure formation with layering of [bmim]+ and [BF4]- and migration of Cl- within the BHDC microemulsions. Comparisons with NMR results for related ionic compounds in organic and aqueous environments as well as literature studies assisted the development of a simple organizational model for these microstructures. Confining ions: Multinuclear NMR experiments were used to explore two different reverse micelle systems formed by using a cationic and nonionic surfactant with the room-temperature ionic liquid (RTIL) [bmim][BF4] (bmim=1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium) as the polar phase. Microemulsions formed by using a cationic surfactant revealed layering of the RTIL that does not occur in systems formed with the nonionic surfactant (see figure). Copyright © 2011 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.Fil: Falcone, Ruben Dario. Universidad Nacional de Río Cuarto. Instituto para el Desarrollo Agroindustrial y de la Salud. - Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba. Instituto para el Desarrollo Agroindustrial y de la Salud; ArgentinaFil: Baruah, Bharat. Kennesaw State University; Estados Unidos. State University of Colorado - Fort Collins; Estados UnidosFil: Gaidamauskas, Ernestas. State University of Colorado - Fort Collins; Estados Unidos. Vilniaus Universitetas; LituaniaFil: Rithner, Christopher D.. State University of Colorado - Fort Collins; Estados UnidosFil: Correa, Nestor Mariano. Universidad Nacional de Río Cuarto. Instituto para el Desarrollo Agroindustrial y de la Salud. - Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba. Instituto para el Desarrollo Agroindustrial y de la Salud; ArgentinaFil: Silber, Juana. Universidad Nacional de Río Cuarto. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas Fisicoquímicas y Naturales. Departamento de Química; ArgentinaFil: Crans, Debbie C.. State University of Colorado - Fort Collins; Estados UnidosFil: Levinger, Nancy E.. State University of Colorado - Fort Collins; Estados Unido