Haemolytic action of non-ionic surfactants derived from lysine in rat erythrocytes

Abstract

Monodisperse, non-ionic surfactants based on lysine contain two hydrophobic chains and one or two polyoxyethylene glycol chains with a methoxy group capping the terminal hydroxyl function. Because their structural resemblance to lecithins suggests they could be regarded as non-ionic molecular mimics of these compounds, their haemolytic action has been studied. The presence of 14 and 18 carbon atoms in the hydrophobic moiety seems to result in greater haemolytic action of the surfactants with one polyoxyethylene glycol chain. In the series with two polyoxyethylene glycol chains, the compounds tested at a concentration higher than their critical micellar concentration have greater haemolytic effect, irrespective of the shape of the micelles. When there is a single polyoxyethylene chain a relationship is observed between chain length and haemolytic effect. This correlation is not observed for compounds with two chains. The results show that it is not always possible to predict the haemolytic effect of a surfactant on the basis of its structure and composition.