Non‐Ionic Fluorosurfactants for Droplet‐Based <i>in vivo</i> Applications
Abstract 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 −1 . 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 5 PFPE 1 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
- Published
- 2024-09-28
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1002/ange.202404956
- Primary Topic
- Surface Modification and Superhydrophobicity
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00
Funders
- Human Frontier Science Program
- Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft
- National Institute of General Medical Sciences