Non‐Ionic Fluorosurfactants for Droplet‐Based <i>in vivo</i> Applications
Fluorocarbon oils are uniquely suited for many biomedical applications due to their inert, bioorthogonal properties. In order to interface fluorocarbon oils with biological systems, non-ionic fluorosurfactants are necessary. However, there is a paucity of non-ionic fluorosurfactants with low interfacial tension (IFT) to stabilize fluorocarbon phases in aqueous environments (such as oil-in-water emulsions). We developed non-ionic fluorosurfactants composed of a polyethylene glycol (PEG) segment covalently bonded to a flexible perfluoropolyether (PFPE) segment that confer low IFTs between a fluorocarbon oil (HFE-7700) and water. The synthesis of a panel of surfactants spanning a molecular weight range of 0.64-66 kDa with various hydrophilic-lipophilic balances allowed for identification of minimal IFTs, ranging from 1.4 to 17.8 mN m<sup>-1</sup>. The majority of these custom fluorosurfactants display poor solubility in water, allowing their co-introduction with fluorocarbon oils and minimal leaching. We applied the PEG<sub>5</sub>PFPE<sub>1</sub> surfactant for mechanical force measurements in zebrafish, enabling exceptional sensitivity.
Authors
- Jennifer S. Pollock (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1956-0449)
- Otger Campàs (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9642-8030)
- Antoine Vian (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8774-320X)
- Ellen M. Sletten (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0049-7278)
- Manon Valet (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0051-0663)
- Petr Pospíšil (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4666-6724)
- Carlos Gomez (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5619-0841)
- Shuo‐Ting Yen (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4277-1965)
- Heidi L. van de Wouw (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2115-6325)
- Yucen Liu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1174-5337)
- Joseph Garcia (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0253-3121)
Institutions
- Georgia Institute of Technology (US)
- University of California, Santa Barbara (US)
- University of California, Los Angeles (US)
- Center for Systems Biology Dresden (DE)
- Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics (DE)
- Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science (US)
- Technische Universität Dresden (DE)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Angewandte Chemie International Edition
- Published
- 2024-09-28
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1002/anie.202404956
- Citations
- 6
- Primary Topic
- Surface Modification and Superhydrophobicity
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 1.07
Funders
- Human Frontier Science Program
- Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft
- Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung
- Technische Universität Dresden
- Freistaat Sachsen
- National Institutes of Health
- University of California, Santa Barbara
- National Institute of General Medical Sciences