Smart complex fluids based on two-antennary oligoglycines.

Antennary oligoglycines are synthetic products, obtained by preliminary molecular design. Equal-length antennae are built of glycine residues jointed by C-end to oligoamine branching core with amine group at the N-terminus exposed outside. Results from a systematic research on properties of aqueous solutions containing two-antennary oligoglycine with four glycine portions are reported here. The central feature is the competition between amphiphilic self-assembly and onset of Polyglycine II motifs. This demands 'softer' research approach and a combined procedure is developed to characterize bulk and interfacial structures and coatings. It includes registration of bulk aggregates, examination of interfacial layers at solution/air and solution/solid boundaries, drainage and stability of liquid films. The obtained results add new knowledge to structure-property relationships in these smart fluids and give essential hints about key factors allied to possible applications in medicine, pharmaceutics, and environment protection.