Cylindrical curvature, self-assembled molecules

The experiments discussed in this chapter have shown that a variety of chiral molecules self-assemble into cylindrical tubules and helical ribbons. These are indeed surprising structures because of their high curvature. One would normally expect the lowest energy state of a bilayer membrane to be flat or to have the minimum curvature needed to close off the edges of the membrane. By contrast, these structures have a high curvature, with a characteristic radius that depends on the material but is always fairly small compared with vesicles or other membrane structures. Thus, the key issue in understanding the formation of tubules and helical ribbons is how to explain the morphology with a characteristic radius. 

In this chapter, we have surveyed a wide range of chiral molecules that self-assemble into helical structures. The molecules include aldonamides, cere-brosides, amino acid amphiphiles, peptides, phospholipids, gemini surfactants, and biological and synthetic biles. In all of these systems, researchers observe helical ribbons and tubules, often with helical markings. In certain cases, researchers also observe twisted ribbons, which are variations on helical ribbons with Gaussian rather than cylindrical curvature. These structures have a large-scale helicity which manifests the chirality of the constituent molecules. 

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