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Supramolecular Amino Acid Based Hydrogels: Probing the Contribution of Additive Molecules using NMR Spectroscopy
Author(s) -
Ramalhete Susana M.,
Nartowski Karol P.,
Sarathchandra Nichola,
Foster Jamie S.,
Round Andrew N.,
Angulo Jesús,
Lloyd Gareth O.,
Khimyak Yaroslav Z.
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
chemistry – a european journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.687
H-Index - 242
eISSN - 1521-3765
pISSN - 0947-6539
DOI - 10.1002/chem.201700793
Subject(s) - self healing hydrogels , supramolecular chemistry , molecule , magic angle spinning , solid state nuclear magnetic resonance , nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy , chemistry , proton nmr , materials science , chemical engineering , crystallography , organic chemistry , nuclear magnetic resonance , engineering , physics
Supramolecular hydrogels are composed of self‐assembled solid networks that restrict the flow of water. l ‐Phenylalanine is the smallest molecule reported to date to form gel networks in water, and it is of particular interest due to its crystalline gel state. Single and multi‐component hydrogels of l ‐phenylalanine are used herein as model materials to develop an NMR‐based analytical approach to gain insight into the mechanisms of supramolecular gelation. Structure and composition of the gel fibres were probed using PXRD, solid‐state NMR experiments and microscopic techniques. Solution‐state NMR studies probed the properties of free gelator molecules in an equilibrium with bound molecules. The dynamics of exchange at the gel/solution interfaces was investigated further using high‐resolution magic angle spinning (HR‐MAS) and saturation transfer difference (STD) NMR experiments. This approach allowed the identification of which additive molecules contributed in modifying the material properties.