Hydrophobin: Fluorosurfactant-like properties without fluorine

Roberto Milani (Corresponding Author), Evanthia Monogioudi, Michele Baldrighi, Gabriella Cavallo, Valentina Arima, Lucia Marra, Alessandra Zizzari, Ross Rinaldi, Markus Linder, Giuseppe Resnati (Corresponding Author), Pierangelo Metrangolo

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticleScientificpeer-review

    25 Citations (Scopus)

    Abstract

    The stabilization of fluorous oil droplets in aqueous environment is a critical issue in the preparation of emulsified systems for biomedical applications and in emulsion polymerization technology, due to the extreme immiscibility of aqueous and fluorous phases. We present here a detailed study on the behavior of the hydrophobin HFBI, i.e. a small natural protein endowed with exceptional surface activity, at the interface between aqueous and fluorous phases. HFBI behaves as an efficient and sustainable surfactant at remarkably low concentrations and forms a strong and elastic film at the interface between the two phases. We also show proof-of-concept experiments on the use of HFBI as a surfactant in fluorous oil/water emulsified systems and in microfluidic circuits.
    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)6505-6514
    JournalSoft Matter
    Volume9
    Issue number28
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 2013
    MoE publication typeA1 Journal article-refereed

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