title: Fusion of vesicles in manganese complex of a single-chain schiff base amphiphile--3-cyano-N-benzylidene hexadecylamine.
abstract: A single-chain amphiphile containing a rigid Schiff base segment, 3-cyano-N-benzylidene hexadecylamine (CNBHB) in the polar head group was synthesized and studied for its vesicle-forming properties. The dependence of the aggregation behavior of the vesicles as such and in the presence of manganese ions were studied as a function of temperature using differential scanning calorimetry and turbidity measurements. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) was used to analyze the morphology of the vesicles, showed interesting features with fusion of regular structures, and were quite stable. In the presence of manganese ions, fusion of vesicles takes place. This could be due to the metal ions that are bound to the surface of the vesicles that cause a partial destruction of the hydration shell on the surface of the vesicles. The reduction in the hydration force could thus be responsible for the fusion.
authors.affiliation: Chemical Lab, CLRI, Adyar, Chennai 600 020, India.
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Hemakanthi
authors.forename: Aruna
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Dhathathreyan