[scienceaddiction1]

Hello! I am currently planning an experiment where I will be using major components of bile acids to create a mixture of similar concentrations to human bile acid. These mixture will be used to emulsify a polar substance dissolved in oil.

I'm a bit worried about formulating the mixture however, I was initially planning on ordering 3 of the major constituents of bile acid (Cholic, Glycocholic, and Taurocholic acids) and mixing them in water at quantities reflectant of human bile acid. When I look at the wikipedia article, however, I see that "Bile acids are conjugated with taurine or glycine residues to give anions called bile salts".

From what I can see, bile salts are what are used the human intestines to emulsify and uptake polar substances so I want to best reflect that. What would I have to do to form a bile salt solution from bile acids?

Thanks.

[scienceaddiction1]

Also what about bovine or swine bile acid? Would reconstituting this create a solution capable of emulsifying polar substances like oil?

[Borek]

Just a guess, but sounds like you may need not only three acids, but also some taurine/glycine to neutralize them.

[Babcock_Hall]

https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/compound/Cholic-acid
https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/compound/Glycocholic-acid

If you compare the structure of cholic acid with the structure of glycocholic acid, you can see that glycine has been conjugated to (covalently joined with) the former compound to make the latter compound.