Synthesis and bio-physicochemical properties of amide-functionalized N-methylpiperazinium surfactants.

Four new amide functionalized N-methylpiperazinium amphiphiles having tetradecyl, hexadecyl alkyl chain lengths and counterions; chloride or bromide have been synthesized and characterized by various spectroscopic techniques. These new surfactants have been investigated in detail for their self-assembling behavior by surface tension, conductivity and fluorescence measurements. The thermodynamic parameters of these surfactants indicate that micellization is exothermic and entropy-driven. The dynamic light scattering (DLS) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) experiments have been performed to insight the aggregate size of these cationics. Thermal degradation of these new surfactants has also been evaluated by thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA). These new surfactants form stable complexes with DNA as acknowledged by agarose gel electrophoresis, ethidium bromide exclusion and zeta potential measurements. They have also been found to have low cytotoxicity by MTT (3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide) assay on the C6 glioma cell line.