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Effect of the Chemical Structure of Ionic Glycolipids on Their Lyotropic Aqueous Phase Behavior

Valentini, Giuliana ; Plivelic, Tomás S. LU ; Garcia, Paulo R.A.F. ; Kihara, Shinji ; Boyd, Ben J. and Loh, Watson LU (2025) In ACS Omega 10(45). p.54929-54938
Abstract

This study examines the self-assembly and lyotropic aqueous phase behavior of galactose- (GC) and rhamnose-based (RC) bioinspired glycolipids with C10and C14alkyl chains using small-angle X-ray scattering and wide-angle X-ray scattering measurements. In the isotropic micellar regime (L1), ellipsoidal micelles were identified, with their size and aggregation number mainly controlled by the surfactant alkyl chain length. As the concentration increases, both GC and RC systems form hexagonal (H1) mesophases, with the C14homologues exhibiting a broader stability range of H1and crystallizing above 80 wt %. Notably, above 95 wt % RC10 assembles into an additional bicontinuous... (More)

This study examines the self-assembly and lyotropic aqueous phase behavior of galactose- (GC) and rhamnose-based (RC) bioinspired glycolipids with C10and C14alkyl chains using small-angle X-ray scattering and wide-angle X-ray scattering measurements. In the isotropic micellar regime (L1), ellipsoidal micelles were identified, with their size and aggregation number mainly controlled by the surfactant alkyl chain length. As the concentration increases, both GC and RC systems form hexagonal (H1) mesophases, with the C14homologues exhibiting a broader stability range of H1and crystallizing above 80 wt %. Notably, above 95 wt % RC10 assembles into an additional bicontinuous cubic Ia3d phase, which was not observed in the GC systems. Phase boundary diagrams further indicate that the presence of rhamnose, with fewer hydroxyl groups and weaker hydrogen-bonding ability, favors mesophase ordering at lower concentrations, while galactose enhances hydration and expands the L1domain. At higher glycolipid concentrations, however, headgroup interactions may alter this trend, and the hydroxyl-rich galactose tends to promote crystallization, while rhamnose maintains the H1mesophase up to a more concentrated region. Overall, these findings demonstrate that bioinspired glycolipid self-assembly depends on a balance of contributions from their alkyl chains and sugar headgroups, transitioning from a sugar solubility-driven mechanism in L1to prevailing sugar–sugar interactions in the concentrated regime.

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organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
in
ACS Omega
volume
10
issue
45
pages
10 pages
publisher
The American Chemical Society (ACS)
external identifiers
  • scopus:105022147863
  • pmid:41280778
ISSN
2470-1343
DOI
10.1021/acsomega.5c08922
language
English
LU publication?
yes
additional info
Publisher Copyright: © 2025 The Authors. Published by American Chemical Society
id
2a0be3f9-41a4-42e0-acf6-081e2b2b1d0a
date added to LUP
2026-01-22 10:27:13
date last changed
2026-01-23 03:00:12
@article{2a0be3f9-41a4-42e0-acf6-081e2b2b1d0a,
  abstract     = {{<p>This study examines the self-assembly and lyotropic aqueous phase behavior of galactose- (GC) and rhamnose-based (RC) bioinspired glycolipids with C<sub>10</sub>and C<sub>14</sub>alkyl chains using small-angle X-ray scattering and wide-angle X-ray scattering measurements. In the isotropic micellar regime (L<sub>1</sub>), ellipsoidal micelles were identified, with their size and aggregation number mainly controlled by the surfactant alkyl chain length. As the concentration increases, both GC and RC systems form hexagonal (H<sub>1</sub>) mesophases, with the C<sub>14</sub>homologues exhibiting a broader stability range of H<sub>1</sub>and crystallizing above 80 wt %. Notably, above 95 wt % RC10 assembles into an additional bicontinuous cubic Ia3d phase, which was not observed in the GC systems. Phase boundary diagrams further indicate that the presence of rhamnose, with fewer hydroxyl groups and weaker hydrogen-bonding ability, favors mesophase ordering at lower concentrations, while galactose enhances hydration and expands the L<sub>1</sub>domain. At higher glycolipid concentrations, however, headgroup interactions may alter this trend, and the hydroxyl-rich galactose tends to promote crystallization, while rhamnose maintains the H<sub>1</sub>mesophase up to a more concentrated region. Overall, these findings demonstrate that bioinspired glycolipid self-assembly depends on a balance of contributions from their alkyl chains and sugar headgroups, transitioning from a sugar solubility-driven mechanism in L<sub>1</sub>to prevailing sugar–sugar interactions in the concentrated regime.</p>}},
  author       = {{Valentini, Giuliana and Plivelic, Tomás S. and Garcia, Paulo R.A.F. and Kihara, Shinji and Boyd, Ben J. and Loh, Watson}},
  issn         = {{2470-1343}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  month        = {{11}},
  number       = {{45}},
  pages        = {{54929--54938}},
  publisher    = {{The American Chemical Society (ACS)}},
  series       = {{ACS Omega}},
  title        = {{Effect of the Chemical Structure of Ionic Glycolipids on Their Lyotropic Aqueous Phase Behavior}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/acsomega.5c08922}},
  doi          = {{10.1021/acsomega.5c08922}},
  volume       = {{10}},
  year         = {{2025}},
}