Surface and Solution Properties of Amphiphilic Drug-Nonionic Surfactant Systems

A surface tension study was performed on mixed amphiphilic drug-nonionic surfactant systems. The drugs used were adiphenine hydrochloride and nortriptyline hydrochloride whereas surfactants were ethoxylated sorbitan esters and polyethylene oxide?Cpolypropylene oxide?Cpolyethylene oxide triblocks. The critical micelle concentration (CMC) and CMC^id (CMC at ideal mixing condition) values suggest nonideal and attractive interactions among the components. The micellar mole fraction $ (X_{ 1}^{\text{m}} ) $ values calculated using Rubingh??s model indicate predominance of the nonionic surfactant in micelle formation. The mole fraction of surfactant in mixed monolayer $ (X_{1}^{\sigma } ) $ values are greater than $ X_{ 1}^{\text{m}} $ values, indicating a greater contribution of surfactant in monolayer formation. Thermodynamic parameters, viz. Gibbs energy of micellization $ (\Updelta G_{\text{m}}^{\text{o}} ) $ , Gibbs energy of adsorption $ (\Updelta G_{\text{ad}}^{\text{o}} ) $ , and excess free energy of mixed micelles $ (\Updelta G_{\text{ex}}^{\text{m}} ) $ and monolayers $ (\Updelta G_{\text{ex}}^{\sigma } ) $ were also evaluated. All these values suggest stable mixed micelle and mixed monolayer formation.