Determination of Critical Micellar Concentration of Homologous 2-Alkoxyphenylcarbamoyloxyethyl-Morpholinium Chlorides

The critical micellar concentrations of selected alkyloxy homologues of local anesthetic 4-(2-{[(2-alkoxyphenyl)carbamoyl]oxy}ethyl)morpholin-4-ium chloride with n_c = 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9 carbons in alkyloxy tail were determined by absorption spectroscopy in the UV⁻vis spectral region with the use of a pyrene probe. Within the homologous series of the studied amphiphilic compounds, the ln(cmc) was observed to be dependent linearly on the number of carbon atoms n_c in the hydrophobic tail: ln(cmc) = 0.705⁻0.966 n_c. The Gibbs free energy, necessary for the transfer of the methylene group of the alkoxy chain from the water phase into the inner part of the micelle at the temperature of 25 °C and pH ≈ 4.5⁻5.0, was found to be −2.39 kJ/mol. The experimentally determined cmc values showed good correlations with the predicted values of the bulkiness of the alkoxy tail expressed as the molar volume of substituent R, as well as with the surface tension of the compounds.