Effect of stereochemistry on the molecular aggregation of phenylalanine dipeptide-type surfactants

The aggregation behaviors of three stereoisomers of tetramethylammonium N-dodecanoyl phenylalanylphenylalaninate in dilute aqueous solution were investigated. From surface tension, fluorescence intensity using probes, and heat of dilution measurements, it was suggested that the critical aggregation concentration was the same between the enantiomers, but was obviously different between the diastereomers. It was also found that these surfactants formed large aggregates at lower concentrations. These large aggregates were then transformed to micelles at higher concentrations similarly to the potassium N-acyl phenylalaninate system. Furthermore, the fluorescence intensity of auramine increased strikingly in the N-dodecanoyl-L-phenylalanyl-L-phenylalanine (homo-chiral dipeptide-type surfactant) system. The fluorescence intensity of auramine in the aggregate of homo-chiral dipeptide-type surfactant was 20 times larger than that in the hetero-chiral dipeptide-type surfactant.