RADIOLYSIS OF HETEROGENEOUS INANIMATE SYSTEMS

Aqueous micelles, reversed micelles, liposomes and surfactant vesicles have been utilized in recent years to model the more complex microenvironment of biological systems and energy deposition therein. Micelles are dynamically formed from surfactants at their critical micelle concentration either in water (aqueous micelles) or in nonpolar solvents (reversed micelles). Conversely, surfactant vesicles and liposomes are thermodynamically stable. Brief physical chemical descriptions of these models are given. The available data on the interaction of the hydrated electron, the hydroxyl radical and the hydrogen atom with the models themselves are summarized. Attention is focused on recent investigations of radical and excited state processes in the micellar environments. The results obtained are related to problems of radiobiological importance. © 1979.