STUDY OF THE SURFACE AND BIOLOGICAL-ACTIVITY OF A TRIVALENT CAGE SURFACTANT

We have studied a novel cobalt cage surfactant which has significant i n vivo biological activity on parasitic nematodes. This activity was i nvestigated by the confocal microscopy of sheep red blood cells, allow ing the mode of action to be studied at a cellular level. Surface forc e measurements were carried out using colloid probe atomic force micro scopy on adsorbed bilayers of this surfactant, which were found to be mechanically weak. The surface properties of the surfactant were measu red and correlated with its biological activity. The theory of membran e curvature was also used to describe the surfactants biological activ ity.