(50f) Solubilization of Limonene into Aqueous Solutions of Dialkyl Phosphatidylcholine Micelles

Fundamental understanding of solubilization phenomena in surfactant assemblies is motivated by potential applications in drug, flavor or bioactive delivery. The aggregate structure’s role in the equilibrium partitioning of hydrophobic flavor compounds in micellar solutions is of particular interest. In this study, we captured solubilization behavior of limonene into dialkyl phosphatidylcholine micelles of different chain lengths, at various compositions and temperatures. Headspace sampling of equilibrated mixtures was conducted using solid phase microextraction (SPME) and quantification was performed with gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS). In doing so, several solubilization isotherms were constructed. In addition, dynamic light scattering techniques were used to estimate micelle size and shape. Our findings indicate limonene partitioning into the micellar aggregates is generally suppressed with an increase in temperature and enhanced with an increase in limonene concentration. We connect these findings to observed changes in overall micelle structure.