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Abstract:
The first self-organized quadruple helices consisting of nonpolymeric material have been obtained from N-octyl-and N-dodecyl-ᴅ-gluconamides in water. They have been characterized by electron microscopy, image analysis, and computer modelling. The pitch of the helices is equal to (2π x molecular bilayer diameter); their gradient conforms with the magic angle (54.7°). The quadruple helices rearrange in aqueous gels to a single helix made of circular 4-fold layers of molecules, a pitch of 7.4 nm, and a gradient of 82 ± 3°. This quadruple layer may already contain head-to-tail oriented molecules, which are exclusively found in the final crystal sheets. The process of crystallization, from highly curved micellar fibers to planar crystal sheets, proceeds on minimal sufaces.
