INTERFACIAL WATER-STRUCTURE IN LECITHIN-OIL-WATER REVERSE MICELLES

Lecithin dissolved in organic solvents forms reverse micellar aggregates which can solubilize water. Using NMR and FTIR techniques it has been found that water in lecithin reverse micelles remains mainly in three different states, namely water hydrated to monomeric lecithin, water bound to the lecithin aggregates and free water in the aqueous core of the aggregates. The composition of each of the various states of water depends on the amount of water solubilized in the micelles. It has been estimated that the maximum amount of water bound per lecithin molecule is between 4 and 5 in the aggregated system. © 1990.