Supramolecular Gel Formation Based on Glycolipids Derived from Renewable Resources.

Krishnamoorthy Lalitha,Rajendhiran Saritha,C Maheswari,Vellaisamy Sridharan,A Thamizhanban,Yadavali Prasad,Kandasamy Gayathri,Subbiah Nagarajan

doi:10.3390/gels4010001

Krishnamoorthy Lalitha, Rajendhiran Saritha + Show 6 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3390/gels4010001

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Journal: Gels	Publication Date: Dec 24, 2017
Citations: 7	License type: CC BY 4.0

Affiliation: SASTRA University, Central University of Jammu

Abstract

The potential applications of self-assembled supramolecular gels based on natural molecules encouraged the researchers to develop a versatile synthetic method for their structural analogues. Herein, we report a facile synthesis of glycolipid from renewable resources, cashew nut shell liquid,d and d-glucose in good yield. Gelation behavior of these glycolipids were studied in a wide range of solvents and oils. To our delight, compound 5b formed a hydrogel with Critical gelator concentration (CGC) of 0.29% w/v. Morphological analysis of the hydrogel depicts the formation of twisted fibers with an entangled network. Formation of a twisted fibrous structure was further identified by CD spectral studies with respect to temperature. The molecular self-assembly assisted by hydrogen bonding, hydrophobic, and π–π stacking interactions were identified by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and FTIR studies. Rheological analysis depicted the mechanical strength and stability of the hydrogel, which is crucial in predicting the practical applications of supramolecular soft materials.

Highlights

Nature provides plenty of prospects for constructing structural and functional materials from the various raw materials, such as carbohydrates, nucleotides, and proteins, which perform unique and complex functions [1]
We report the synthesis and self-assembly of renewable resource-derived glycolipids, which present study, we report the synthesis and self-assembly of renewable resource-derived glycolipids, is an analogue of sophorolipid
-glucose in good yield using a simple protocol

Summary

Introduction

Nature provides plenty of prospects for constructing structural and functional materials from the various raw materials, such as carbohydrates, nucleotides, and proteins, which perform unique and complex functions [1]. Design and development of self-assembled supramolecular soft materials from low molecular weight compounds have acquired remarkable research interest because of their tendency to build a variety of architectures via non-covalent interactions, like π–π stacking, hydrogen bonding, dipole-dipole interaction, and van der Waals forces [2,3,4,5]. These supramolecular soft materials display responsive behavior to various external stimuli, such as temperature, light, pH, ions, mechanical stress, ultrasound, and enzymes, which, when harnessed effectively, can produce functional materials for applications such as drug carriers, enzyme immobilization, sensors, soft optical devices, dye-sensitized solar cells, templating components for inorganic or organic nanostructures, cell scaffolds, and wound healing [6,7,8,9,10]. Among the reported biocompatible natural raw materials, carbohydrates, called a chiral pool, have become an obvious choice to construct soft materials due to its eco-friendliness, cost effectiveness, biodegradability, and structural diversity.

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