Non-covalent chiral fibres in aqueous gels and their functionalization

The fully reversible synthesis of noncovalent assemblies which are held tog ether by directed bonds is called synkinesis. Micellar fibres with a distin ct stereochemistry and gels are formed by amphiphiles forming strong hydrog en bonds between chiral head groups. The 3D-crystallization of such molecul ar assemblies, without dominating repulsive hydration forces, is prevented by the curvature of the fibres, Curvature might perhaps be directly connect ed with chirality. Addition of enantiomers often leads to an irreversible d estruction of gels. Recent developments relating to 'hydrophobic water' in Angstrom-wide membrane gaps are also shortly discussed.