Biology Reference
In-Depth Information
Chapter 6
Supra-Amphiphiles for Controlled Self-
Assembly and Disassembly
Chao Wang and Xi Zhang *
Department of Chemistry, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China
*xi@mail.tsinghua.edu.cn
6.1
What Is Supra-Amphiphile?
Conventionally, an amphiphile refers to a molecule that contains a
hydrophobic part and a hydrophilic part, linked by covalent bonds
[1,2]. When amphiphiles are dissolved in water, the hydrophobic
parts tend to aggregate while the hydrophilic parts favor to
stay in touch with water, generating aggregates with various
nanostructures [3]. In contrast to conventional amphiphiles, supra-
amphiphiles refer to amphiphiles that are constructed on the basis
of noncovalent interactions or dynamic covalent bonds (Fig. 6.1)
[4,5]. In supra-amphiphiles, the functional groups can be attached
to the amphiphiles by noncovalent synthesis, greatly reducing the
need of tedious chemical synthesis. The architectures of supra-
amphiphiles can be either small organic molecules or polymers. The
basic building blocks for supra-amphiphiles can be either synthetic
molecules or natural ones.
 
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