Spontaneously formed vesicles of sodium N-(11-acrylamidoundecanoyl)-glycinate and L-alaninate in water.

Two N-acyl amino acid surfactants, sodium N-(11-acrylamidoundecanoyl)-glycinate (SAUG) and L-alaninate (SAUA), were synthesized and characterized in aqueous solution. A number of techniques, such as surface tension, fluorescence probe, light scattering, and transmission electron microscopy were employed for characterization of the amphiphiles in water. The surface and interfacial properties were measured. The amphiphiles have two critical aggregation concentrations. The results of surface tension and fluorescence probe studies suggested formation of bilayer self-assemblies in dilute aqueous solutions of the amphiphiles. The magnitudes of free energy change of aggregation have indicated that bilayer formation is more favorable in the case of SAUG. Steady-state fluorescence measurements of pyrene and 1,6-diphenyl-1,3,5-hexatriene (DPH) were used to study the microenvironment of the molecular self-assemblies. Temperature-dependent fluorescence anisotropy change of DPH probe revealed phase transition temperature of the bilayer self-assemblies. The effects of pH on the structure of the self-assemblies of SAUG and SAUA have been studied. The role of intermolecular hydrogen bonding between amide groups upon aggregation toward microstructure formation in solution has been discussed. Circular dichroism spectra suggested the presence of chiral aggregates in an aqueous solution of SAUA. The transmission electron micrographs revealed the presence of closed spherical vesicles in aqueous solutions of the amphiphiles. Dynamic light scattering measurements were performed to obtain average size of the aggregates.