Biological properties of arginine-based glycerolipidic cationic surfactants

Abstract

Amino acid-based surfactants have attracted much interest as environmentally friendly surfactants because of their biodegradability, low aquatic toxicity, and low haemolytic activity. Our group has recently developed a new family of arginine-based glycerolipidic surfactants: 1-acyl-3-O-(L-arginyl)-rac-glycerol·2HCl (X0R) and 1,2-diacyl-3-O-(L-arginyl)-rac-glycerol·2HCl (XXR) with alkyl chain lengths in the range of C₈–C₁₄. In this paper we study the biodegradability and aquatic toxicity of these recently developed arginine-based glycerolipidic cationic surfactants and compare these to conventional cationic surfactants.