Mechanism of N-octadecyl-N′-maleoyl-L-phenylalanine self-assembled into supramolecular structures

N-Octadecyl-N′-maleoyl-L-phenylalanine(ODMA-L-Phe)was synthesized through the condensation,deprotection and acid- ylation reaction of BOC-L-phenylalauine,octadecylamine and maleic anhydride,ODMA-L-Phe can self-assemble in some organic solvents and turned them into thermally reversible physical supramolecular organogels.The morphology of ODMA-L-Phe aggregates was characterized by polarized optical microscopy(POM)and field emission scanning electron microscope(FE-SEM). The aggregates of ODMA-L-Phe were needle-like fibrils with diameters of approximately 100-200 nm.The mechanism of ODMA- L-Phe serf-assembly in organic solvents was investigated using ~1H NMR and circular dichroism(CD).The results indicated that hydrogen bonding was one of the main driving forces for the self-assembly of ODMA-L-Phe.