Self-assembled molecules models

Guerin, C. B. E. and Szleifer, I. (1999). Self-assembly of model nonionic amphiphilic molecules, Langmuir, 15, 7901-7911. 

In the first step, lipid model membranes have been generated (Fig. 15) on the air/liquid interface, on a glass micropipette (see Section VIII.A.1), and on an aperture that separates two cells filled with subphase (see Section VIII.A.2). Further, amphiphilic lipid molecules have been self-assembled in an aqueous medium surrounding unilamellar vesicles (see Section VIII.A.3). Subsequently, the S-layer protein of B. coagulans E38/vl, B. stearother-mophilus PV72/p2, or B. sphaericus CCM 2177 have been injected into the aqueous subphase (Fig. 15). As on solid supports, crystal growth of S-layer lattices on planar or vesicular lipid films is initiated simultaneously at many randomly distributed nucleation... 

In order to prepare and isolate solid-state, crystalline, oxygenated iron-heme model complexes, chemists learned to synthesize (by self-assembly methods) and oxygenate many types of hindered porphyrins. For instance, capped porphyrins were synthesized by direct condensation of a suitable tetraaldehyde with four pyrrole molecules.37 Picket-fence porphyrins such as I e(TPP)((V-MeIm) (where TPP = meso-tetraphenylporphyrin and /V-Melm = (V-methylimidazole)... 

Figure 5.24 Model of hierarchical self-assembly of chiral rodlike monomers.109 (a) Local arrangements (c-f) and corresponding global equilibrium conformations (c -f) for hierarchical selfassembling structures formed in solutions of chiral molecules (a), which have complementary donor and acceptor groups, shown by arrows, via which they interact and align to form tapes (c). Black and the white surfaces of rod (a) are reflected in sides of helical tape (c), which is chosen to curl toward black side (c ). (b) Phase diagram of solution of twisted ribbons that form fibrils. Scaled variables relative helix pitch of isolated ribbons h hh /a. relative side-by-side attraction energy between fibrils eaur/e. Reprinted with permission from Ref. 109. Copyright 2001 by the National Academy of Sciences, U.S.A.

The basic concept behind all models of chiral self-assembly can be stated as follows. In general, chiral molecules do not pack parallel to their neighbors but rather pack at a slight angle with respect to their neighbors. This favored packing can be visualized by the packing of hard screws,6 as illustrated in... 

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