INTERACTION OF AMINO-ACIDS WITH THE CATIONIC SURFACTANT ALPHA-CETYLPYRIDINIUMBROMIDE STUDIED BY CHARGE-TRANSFER CHROMATOGRAPHY

The interaction of amino acids with the cationic surfactant alpha-cety lpyridiniumbromide (CPB) was studied by charge transfer reversed phase thin layer chromatography and the relative strength of interaction wa s calculated. In the majority of cases the surfactant had a negligible effect on the hydrophobicity of amino acids. Only the binding of Ala, Met, Trp and Tyr to the surfactant was observed, however, the strengt h of interaction was fairly low. The hydrophobicity of the am ino acid side chains significantly influenced the strength of the interaction. The findings support the hypothesis that the binding of cationic surf actants to proteins involves more than one amino acid residues and tha t the hydrophobic forces have a considerable impact on the interaction .