Redox-responsive wormlike micelles based on Gemini surfactants containing disulfide bonds

Stimuli-responsive wormlike micelles (WLMs) have attracted extensive attention in recent years owing to their tunable viscoelastic properties. In this paper, redox responsive WLMs were formulated with cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB), sodium salicylate (NaSal), and a disulfide-based Gemini surfactant (C12SSC12). The CTAB-NaSal-C12SSC12 ternary system exhibited favorable redox responsiveness. Specifically, reductive cleavage of the disulfide linkage in C12SSC12 by dithiothreitol (DTT) generated the single-chain derivative (C12SH), which induced a morphological transition from entangled WLM networks to rod-like micelles and markedly enhanced fluidity. Upon subsequent addition of H2O2, the Gemini structure of C12SSC12 was restored, enabling the reconstruction of the WLM assemblies. In contrast to previously reported redox-responsive WLMs based on ferrocene or selenium surfactants, C12SSC12 featured inherent biocompatibility and facile synthetic accessibility. This strategy provides a viable approach for the construction of biocompatible and eco-friendly smart WLMs, and holds great promise for potential application in diverse fields including functional materials and sensing.