Design and synthesis of asymmetric acyclic phospholipid bolaamphiphiles.

[structure: see text] A synthetic route was devised for the generation of asymmetric lipid bolaamphiphiles through the sequential esterification of an alkyldioic acid, bearing distinct terminal protecting groups, with propanylamine and lyso-phosphatidylcholine headgroups. Bolaamphiphile self-assembly was investigated in solvent mixes of varying polarity by nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and Fourier transform-infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, as well as in water by cryo-high-resolution scanning electron microscopy (cryo-HRSEM). We anticipate that asymmetric lipid bolaamphiphiles will provide facile building blocks for engineering a variety of unique membrane-mimetic structures.