PubMed2002
The aqueous solubility of cholesterol was determined over the temperature range from 288.2 to 318.2 K with intervals of 5 K by the enzymatic method. The solubility was (3.7+/-0.3)x10(-8) mol dm(-3) (average +/- S.D.) at 308.2 K. The maximum additive concentrations of cholesterol into the aqueous micellar solutions of sodium deoxycholate (NaDC), sodium ursodeoxycholate (NaUDC), and sodium cholate (NaC) were spectrophotometrically determined at different temperatures. The cholesterol solubility increased in the order of NaUDC<NaC<NaDC; for example, 0.10 for NaUDC, 0.61 for NaC, and 2.99 mmol dm(-3) for NaDC at the concentration of 60 mmol dm(-3) and at 308.2 K. The same solubilization experiments were made at 308.2 K using polycyclic aromatic compounds (benzene, naphthalene, anthracene, pyrene) as a reference. Their solubility increase for the bile salts was in the same order as above. Thermodynamic analysis was made for the solubilization, where a micelle was regarded as a chemical species. The average number of solubilizate per micelle was less than unity throughout the experiments. From the Gibbs energy change for solubilization at the different mean aggregation numbers, the function of bile salt micelles was discussed from the viewpoint of molecular structure of solubilizates. The DeltaG(0) value for cholesterol was most negative among the solubilizates studied, which reflected that solubilization of cholesterol into bile salt micelles brought about largest thermodynamic stabilization.