Water-in-Carbon Dioxide Microemulsions: An Environment for Hydrophiles Including Proteins

Carbon dioxide in the liquid and supercritical fluid states is useful as a replacement for toxic organic solvents. However, nonvolatile hydrophilic substances such as proteins, ions, and most catalysts are insoluble. This limitation was overcome by the formation of aqueous microemulsion droplets in a carbon dioxide-continuous phase with a nontoxic ammonium carboxylate perfluoropolyether surfactant. Several spectroscopic techniques consistently indicated that the properties of the droplets approach those of bulk water. The protein bovine serum albumin (BSA) with a molecular weight of 67,000 is soluble in this microemulsion and experiences an environment similar to that of native BSA in buffer.