Exposure of self-assembly interiors to external elements. A kinetic approach

A kinetic approach is described to investigate chain exposure of self-assembly interiors to external elements, in which hydration or chain/water contact is a key feature. A methylene in a hydrophobic thio-surfactant chain is replaced by a sulfur atom, and NMR resolutions are used to study the oxidation rates of the sulfur labels that can be used to assess chain exposure to the external medium in self-assemblies and polymeric systems.