Abstract
6-O-alkyl ascorbic acid esters (ASCn) are amphiphilic molecules that behave as surfactants in aqueous solution. These compounds show physico-chemical and aggregation properties that depend on the alkyl chain length, pH and temperature. It must consider that ASCn have shown some physical and rheological properties that suggest a potential utility as drug carriers. The present paper aims to evaluate the effects of these surfactants on human erythrocyte membranes. The membrane properties studied were: osmotic resistance in hypotonic media, shape transformation, and vesicle release at lytic concentration. According to our results, all properties depended on the length of the hydrophobic chain and they did not evolve monotonically. Finally, the study of ASCn interaction with erythrocyte membrane allowed us to postulate the crucial influence that the molecular structure exerts upon the manner in which amphiphiles interact with biological membranes and the effects involved in them.