Cy3 in AOT Reverse Micelles II. Probing Intermicellar Interactions Using Fluorescence Correlation Spectroscopy

Cyanine-3 (Cy3) fluorescent dye molecules confined in sodium di-2-ethylhexyl sulfosuccinate (AOT) reverse micelles were examined using dynamic light scattering and fluorescence correlation spectroscopy to probe the kinetics of Cy3 dye and reverse micelle aggregation. This study explored a range of reverse micelle sizes, defined as w(0) = [H(2)O]/[AOT], in which the occupation number ranged from one Cy3 molecule per similar to 10(5) to similar to 10(6) reverse micelles. These measurements reveal that in the smallest reverse micelle, w(0) = 1, the Cy3 molecules aggregate to form H-aggregate dimers, and the Cy3 dimerization is accompanied by the formation of a transient dimer between reverse micelles. Transient reverse micelle dimer particles are only observed in the small fraction of Cy3-labeled reverse micelles probed by fluorescence correlation spectroscopy and are not observed in the bulk solution probed by dynamic light scattering. Furthermore, fluorescence correlation spectroscopy makes it possible to probe the size and shape of these dimers, revealing prolate ellipsoid-shaped particles with twice the volume and surface area of a single reverse micelle.