11-Aminoundecanoic acid: a versatile unit for the generation of low molecular weight gelators for water and organic solvents.

The use of 11-aminoundecanoic acid as a synthetic building-block allows the systematic preparation of (oligo)amide organogelators-including chiral ones-which display remarkable gelation properties in organic solvents and water.

Rational Design of Low Molecular Mass Organogelators: Toward a Library of Functional N-Acyl-1,ω-Amino Acid Derivatives.

N-Acyl amino acids RCONH(CH2 )n COOR1 represent a new family of organogelators that can be obtained in a combinatorial approach from libraries of activated acids and amino acids. The amounts required for gel formation in solvents such as DMF are less than 1 mg mL-1 and the gels formed are very stable. n=5, 7, 10, 12; R=aromatic or aliphatic group; R1 =H or alkali metal (Na).