Optimizing biomimetic gelators constructed from amino acid building blocks.
This paper reports the use of a range of amino acids to construct diverse gelators, employing structures in which Boc-protected amino acids are attached to either end of an aliphatic diamine spacer chain. The choice of amino acid determines whether nanoscale self-assembly takes place and controls the properties of the resultant material, while the function of the amino acid (e.g., the optical properties of tryptophan) is translated into the self-assembled nanostructured gel.
Coates
Ian A
IA
Department of Chemistry, University of York, Heslington, York YO10 5DD, UK.
Hirst
Andrew R
AR
Smith
David K
DK
D000596:Amino Acids / Q000737:chemistry*; D040761:Biomimetic Materials / Q000138:chemical synthesis* / Q000737:chemistry*; D002942:Circular Dichroism; D009682:Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy; D008855:Microscopy, Electron, Scanning; D015394:Molecular Structure; D013696:Temperature
D000596:Amino Acids