Vesicles and other supramolecular systems from biocompatible synthetic glycolipids with hydrocarbon and/or fluorocarbon chains.

A series of double-tailed hydrocarbon and/or fluorocarbon glycolipids derived from galactose and glucose have been prepared. These compounds were obtained upon opening a lactono- and maltonolactone moiety by the amino group of either a glycine, glycylglycine or lysine residue. The carboxyl terminus of the glycyl and glycylglycine conjugates was further reacted with the appropriate double-tailed amine. In the case of lysine, the lactonamide conjugate was functionalized with a hydrocarbon and/or fluorocarbon fatty amine and acid, respectively. The ability of such glycolipids to disperse in water, the morphology of self-assemblies formed and the stability of the supramolecular structure obtained were shown to depend on the presence or absence and on the nature of the aminoacid spacer. Most of the compounds described were shown by conventional techniques (TEM, Cryo-TEM, LLS, etc.) to produce stable vesicular systems.