Applications Of High Resolution Liquid State NMR Spectroscopy In Surfactant Chemistry And Neurochemistry

Since its discovery at more than half a century ago, nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) has progressed in a way that is beyond almost everyone's expectation. Tremendous advances have been made in both theoretical framework and technological aspects. Its applications have extended from traditional fields such as physics and chemistry to modern neurosciences and biomedicine. The research works described in the present dissertation are studies in which high resolution liquid state NMR spectroscopy is applied to study the physico-chemical properties of different types of surfactant in aqueous solution and brain metabolism under different physiological and pathological conditions.Understanding the physico-chemical properties of surfactant in aqueous solution is the foundation for effective research and rational use of surfactant. NMR spectroscopy is capable of providing detailed information of the surfactant system at molecular level, thus is an important tool in surfactant research. In Chapter 2, conformation and dynamics of nonionic surfactant polyoxyethylene lauryl ether (Brij-35) chains in aqueous solution were studied by combined use of multiple NMR techniques, including measurements of 1H chemical shift, spin-lattice relaxation time, spin-spin relaxation time and self-diffusion coefficient, 2D NOESY and other techniques as necessary. In Chapter 3, the structures of micelles formed in two surfactant mixture systems, CTAB/Brij-35 and SDS/Brij-35, and the relative arrangement of the two types of surfactant molecules in the mixed micelles were determined. The compositions of the mixed micelles and the possible mechanism leading to micellar formation were also studied by measuring the self-diffusion coefficients in the systems. It is proposed that the formation of mixed micelles in the two surfactant mixture systems is not synchronous.Repeated exposures to morphine or other opioids are often accompanied by development of tolerance and dependence. A growing number of evidence has suggested...