Geometric and optical transformations of supramolecular host-guest amphiphiles

Molecular self-assembly has been an area of recent interest due to its application in a variety of important contexts including drug delivery, regenerative medicine, energy applications, and others. Simultaneously, host-guest chemistry provides a robust and powerful mechanism for inducing switching on the molecular level. In this research, we demonstrate a new platform that combines molecular self-assembly of an amphiphilic chromophore guest molecule with its host molecule counterpart, CB[8] in water. We find that upon addition of CB[8] to a solution of the amphiphilic guest molecule, host-guest complexation occurs and a transition in the morphology of the observed self-assembled nanostructures occurs. Here we present the synthetic route to our amphiphilic guest molecule, in addition to the nanostructural characterization of the supramolecular nanostructures and the host-guest nanostructure by TEM, UV-Vis, and fluorescence spectra.

Department dc:contributor.department

Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Materials Science and Engineering.

Grantor dc:publisher

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Year dc:date.issued

2018

Author dc:creator

• Lo, Cynthia Tsien

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Julia Ortony.

• Materials Science and Engineering.

Statement dc:rights

• MIT theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed, downloaded, or printed from this source but further reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission.

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582

Language dc:language.iso

eng

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/119027

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/119027