A suitable surfactant

A class of materials developed by researchers at Sandia National Laboratories in Livermore, California, may prove useful in textile manufacturing, biomedical diagnostics, and other applications requiring the modification of surface properties of liquids or solids.

Sandia’s cleavable (easily separated) surface active agent (surfactant), based on Diels-Alder chemistry, differs from other surfactants in that it can be thermally degraded and easily removed in an inexpensive, environmentally harmless manner.

Scott Vaupen, a business development associate at Sandia, said commercially available thermally cleavable surfactants would enable industrial practices where it is desirable to diminish foaming or surface-active properties over time, in drug delivery, and where biodegradability is a primary concern. “They could prove useful in diverse fields as textile processing, electronics fabrication, sample management, wastewater processing, cleavable phase transfer reagents, and other applications,” said Vaupen.

Left, a cleavable surfactant in aqueous solution dissolves an oil-soluble dye. Right, that same system forms an emulsion when oil is added. (Photo by Bud Pelletier)