Synthesis of Novel Vesicle Forming Cationic Surfactants Bearing Triethanolamine Moiety and Their Interaction With <scp>BSA</scp>

ABSTRACT The aim of this work is the investigation of the surface activity, aggregation behavior of pyridine‐based triethanolamine‐tailored cationic surfactants (DDNEA, DDNBA, and DDNHA) in water and study of the interaction of surfactants with bovine serum albumin (BSA) using several techniques, such as UV–Vis, XRD, FT‐IR, NMR, tensiometry, conductivity measurements, fluorescence spectroscopy, dynamic light scattering measurement, Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) and Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM). Tensiometry measurement confirms the self‐assembly formation and surface active nature of the amphiphiles. The polarity and fluidity of the microenvironment was investigated using pyrene and 1,6‐Diphenyl‐1,3,5‐hexatriene (DPH) as fluorescence probe molecules. TEM measurement revealed formation of vesicles in aqueous medium. Vitamin B 2 was utilized to inspect the permeability of the lamellar structure. The interaction of the cationic amphiphiles with BSA was also investigated due to their applications in the cosmetic, pharmaceutical, and food industries. A multi spectroscopic approach was used to analyze the details of the binding process. Amphiphiles significantly quenched the intrinsic fluorescence of BSA albumin and the quenching was static in nature. Synchronous and 3D fluorescence spectroscopy indicated that the binding interaction led to microenvironmental changes in protein fluorophores. Molecular docking analysis suggests that hydrogen bonding and hydrophobic interactions primarily drive the complexation process.