Carbamate-Based Bolaamphiphile as Low-Molecular-Weight Hydrogelators

Abstract

A new bolaamphiphile analog featuring carbamate moieties was synthesized in six steps starting from thymidine. The amphiphile structure exhibits nucleoside-sugar polar heads attached to a hydrophobic spacer via carbamate (urethane) functions. This molecular structure, which possesses additional H-bonding capabilities, induces the stabilization of low-molecular-weight gels (LMWGs) in water. The rheological studies revealed that the new bolaamphiphile 7 stabilizes thixotropic hydrogels with a high elastic modulus (G′ > 50 kPa).

Keywords

• nucleolipid
• nucleoside
• glycosyl
• bolaamphiphiles
• low-molecular-weight gels (LMWG)
• carbamate
• hydrogels
• supramolecular assemblies
• thixotropy