Related Experiment Video
Updated: Mar 24, 2026
16:24
Controlling the Size, Shape and Stability of Supramolecular Polymers in Water
Published on: August 2, 2012
19.4K
Introducing Chirality into Nonionic Dendritic Amphiphiles and Studying Their Supramolecular Assembly
Sumit Kumar1,2, Kai Ludwig3, Boris Schade3
1Department of Chemistry, Deenbandhu Chhotu Ram University of Science & Technology, Murthal-, 131039, Haryana, India.
Chemistry (Weinheim an Der Bergstrasse, Germany)
|March 11, 2016
Summary
Chiral head groups in amphiphiles dictate supramolecular assembly. Enantiomers form chiral ribbons, while achiral forms create tubules and platelets, demonstrating stereochemistry
Area of Science:
- Supramolecular Chemistry
- Materials Science
- Stereochemistry
Background:
- Nonionic amphiphiles with hydroxyl-terminated, water-soluble head groups are crucial for self-assembly.
- The stereochemistry of head groups can significantly influence the resulting supramolecular structures.
- Understanding these structure-property relationships is key for designing advanced materials.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the impact of chiral head groups on the supramolecular ultrastructures of amphiphiles.
- To compare the self-assembly behavior of enantiomeric isomers, meso forms, and racemic mixtures.
- To elucidate the relationship between molecular stereochemistry and macroscopic aggregation patterns.
Main Methods:
- Synthesis of water-soluble, hydroxyl-terminated nonionic amphiphiles with varying head group stereochemistry.
- Cryogenic transmission electron microscopy (cryo-TEM) for visualizing supramolecular ultrastructures.
- Circular dichroism (CD) spectroscopy for analyzing chirality.
- Molecular packing simulations to understand assembly mechanisms.
Main Results:
- Amphiphiles with enantiomeric chiral head groups self-assembled into twisted ribbons with uniform handedness.
- The achiral meso stereoisomer and racemic mixture formed elongated, non-chiral structures like tubules and platelets.
- Molecular simulations supported distinct assembly pathways based on stereoisomer identity.
Conclusions:
- Head group stereochemistry is a critical determinant of supramolecular assembly in these amphiphiles.
- Chirality at the molecular level can translate to macroscopic chiral structures (ribbons).
- The study provides insights into controlling self-assembly through molecular design for tailored nanomaterials.
More Related Videos
06:35Construction and Systematical Symmetric Studies of a Series of Supramolecular Clusters with Binary or Ternary Ammonium Triphenylacetates
Published on: February 15, 2016
8.6K
07:26Formation of Ordered Biomolecular Structures by the Self-assembly of Short Peptides
Published on: November 21, 2013
13.5K
Related Concept Videos
02:25Chirality
32.0K
Chirality is a term that describes the lack of mirror symmetry in an object. In other words, chiral objects cannot be superposed on their mirror images. For example, our feet are chiral, as the mirror image of the left foot, the right foot, cannot be superposed on the left foot.
Chiral objects exhibit a sense of handedness when they interact with another chiral object. For example, our left foot can only fit in the left shoe and not in the right shoe. Achiral objects — objects that have...
Chiral objects exhibit a sense of handedness when they interact with another chiral object. For example, our left foot can only fit in the left shoe and not in the right shoe. Achiral objects — objects that have...
32.0K
02:30Chirality in Nature
17.9K
Chirality is the most intriguing yet essential facet of nature, governing life’s biochemical processes and precision. It can be observed from a snail shell pattern in a macroscopic world to an amino acid, the minutest building block of life. Most of the snails around the world have right-coiled shells because of the intrinsic chirality in their genes. All the amino acids present in the human body exist in an enantiomerically pure state, except for glycine - the sole achiral amino acid.
17.9K
02:05Prochirality
5.3K
The concept of prochirality leads to the nomenclature of the individual faces of a molecule and plays a crucial role in the enantioselective reaction. It is a concept where two or more achiral molecules react to produce chiral products. A typical process is the reaction of an achiral ketone to generate a chiral alcohol. Here, the achiral reactant reacts with an achiral reducing agent, sodium borohydride, to generate an equimolar mixture of the chiral enantiomers of the product. For example, an...
5.3K
02:30Chirality at Nitrogen, Phosphorus, and Sulfur
7.4K
Chirality is most prevalent in carbon-based tetrahedral compounds, but this important facet of molecular symmetry extends to sp3-hybridized nitrogen, phosphorus and sulfur centers, including trivalent molecules with lone pairs. Here, the lone pair behaves as a functional group in addition to the other three substituents to form an analogous tetrahedral center that can be chiral.
A consequence of chirality is the need for enantiomeric resolution. While this is theoretically possible for all...
A consequence of chirality is the need for enantiomeric resolution. While this is theoretically possible for all...
7.4K
02:25Molecules with Multiple Chiral Centers
16.4K
Molecules that possess multiple chiral centers can afford a large number of stereoisomers. For instance, while some molecules like 2-butanol have one chiral center, defined as a tetrahedral carbon atom with four different substituents attached, several molecules like butane-2,3-diol have multiple chiral centers. A simple formula to predict the number of stereoisomers possible for a molecule with n chiral centers is 2n. However, there can be a lower number where some of the stereoisomers are...
16.4K
01:30Micelles
161
Micelle formation is an intricate process that hinges on the properties of amphiphilic or amphipathic molecules and the conditions of the system in which they are found. Amphiphilic molecules, which have both hydrophilic (water-attracting) and hydrophobic (water-repelling) parts, play a critical role in this process.In aqueous environments, these molecules arrange themselves such that their hydrophilic heads are turned towards the water phase, while their hydrophobic tails are oriented away...
161