1. Gas-Phase Reverse Micelles – Generation, Structure and Application
Jianbo Liu, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry,
Queens College and the Graduate Center of the City University of New York, Flushing, NY 11367
NaAOT: Proline:
1. Formation of reverse micelles in solution
3. Micelles in vacuo, maintaining encapsulated biomolecules
2. Transfer of micelle-contained droplets to the gas phase, removal of solvent, then exposure to the vacuum
Approach
Mass Spectra of Gas-Phase
AOT Reverse Micelles
(Top) Multiply charged, gas-phase AOT reverse micelles, obtained by nano-electrospray ionization of AOT micelle solution (5  10-3 M in hexane, [H2O]/[AOT] = 10).
(Bottom) Encapsulation of proline into the internal hydrophilic core of gas-phase AOT reverse micelles, indicated in the shaded peaks and labeled as
We have successfully generated and characterized multiply charged, large AOT reverse micelles in the gas phase, and illustrated that the gas-phase reverse micelle could encapsulate ions as well as amino acids within its interior. Our next goal is to use gas-phase reverse micelles as nano-reactors for probing chemistry of single molecules confined in the micellar core.
n + mP z
= [(NaAOT)n Naz (Proline)m]z+