Resumen de Self-assembly of phenylalanine derivatives
In this Thesis, new phenylalanine homo-oligopeptide derivatives have been synthetized in order to test their self-assembly capability and to examine the influence of the chemical structure and the external conditions. Although, the terminal head-to-tail NH3+···¿OOC interactions in the unprotected homopeptides are shown to stabilize the peptide assemblies, chemical modulation has been introduced through the incorporation of the N- and C- protections, such as aromatic blocking groups, azide-alkyne coupling groups, trifluoroacetate anion or polylactide block.
Several charters are dedicated to report that the homopeptide length also plays a significant role in the supramolecular organization of phenylalanine derivatives.
Results have evidenced not only the remarkable control exerted by the characteristics of the environment, but also by the substrate. Peptide···peptide interactions, peptide···surface interactions and the surface roughness have been detected as key factors for the shape, dimensions and stability of the hierarchical assemblies.
