Synthesis and aggregation of two-headed surfactants bearing amino acid moieties

The synthesis of bolaamphiphiles with two amino acid heads having the gener al structure AA-X-AA, where AA denotes an amino acid (D- or L-alanine or L- histidine) and X an alkyl chain of varying length, is described. Micellizat ion was observed for the bolaamphiphile with a twenty-carbon atom alkyl cha in. For compounds with shorter chain lengths, light scattering and electron microscopy suggest the formation of vesicles or fibrous aggregates. These bolaamphiphiles can also form gels at higher concentrations in water or eth anol. Fibrous structures were observed in these gels by electron microscopy .