Mechanism of N-octadecyl-N'-maleoyl-L-phenylalanine self-assembled into supramolecular structures

摘要

N-Octadecyl-N'-maleoyl-L-phenylalanine (ODMA-L-Phe) was synthesized through the condensation, deprotection and aeid-ylation reaction of BOC-L-phenylalanine, octadecylamine and maleic anhydride. ODMA-L-Phe can self-assemble in some organic solvents and turned them into thermally reversible physical supramolecular organogels. The morphology of ODMA-L-Phe aggregates was characterized by polarized optical microscopy (POM) and field emission scanning electron microscope (FE-SEM). The aggregates of ODMA-L-Phe were needle-like fibrils with diameters of approximately 100-200 nm. The mechanism of ODMA-L-Phe self-assembly in organic solvents was investigated using 1H NMR and circular dichroism (CD). The results indicated that hydrogen bonding was one of the main driving forces for the self-assembly of ODMA-L-Phe.