 | Lipid Nanotubes from Cardanyl Glycosides: A Bottom-Up Synthesis
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| | George John1) and Toshimi Shimizu2) |
| | | The self-assembly of low molecular weight building blocks into meso- and nanoscale structures has recently attracted considerable interest for its application in the bottom-up construction of engineered materials [1]. Herein we introduce a new concept in nanomaterial synthesis by combining the philosophies of green chemistry and supramolecular chemistry; making use of renewable plant derived resources as the starting materials (an alternate/additional feedstock) for the noncovalent synthesis of nanometer-sized structures. Molecular building blocks have been prepared from cardanol (obtained from Anacardium occidentale, a renewable resource and a by-product of cashew industry) by glycosylation using glucose pentaacetate. Simple glycolipids (1&2) derived from cardanol were self-assembled in water initially form helical coiled nanofibers and gradually turn into tubular structures of several tens to several hundreds of micrometers long and internal diameters of 10-15 nm. The nanotubes are found to be open ended, with uniform shape and internal diameter with a wall consisting of two to four lipid interdigitated bilayers. |
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