Hybrid Double-Chain Maltose-Based Detergents: Synthesis and Colloidal and Biochemical Evaluation

Four hybrid double-chain surfactants with a maltose polar head were synthesized. The apolar domain consists of a hydrogenated chain, and a partially fluorinated chain made of a propyl hydrogenated spacer terminated by a perfluorinated core of various length. Their water solubility was found to be lower than 1g/L irrespective of the length of both chains. The self-assembling properties of pure hybrids in water was studied by dynamic light scattering and transmission electron microscopy, which revealed the formation of two populations of aggregates with diameters of 8–50 nm diameter and 80–300 nm. When mixed with the classical detergent n-dodecylmaltoside (DDM), the four hybrids were well soluble and formed small mixed micelles. DDM/hybrid mixtures were further evaluated for the extraction of the full-length, wild-type human GPCR adenosine receptor (A2AR) and the bacterial transporter AcrB. The solubilization of A2AR showed extraction efficiencies ranging from 40% to 70%, while that of AcrB reached 60% to 9...