OBC Cover Image Thermotropic Liquid-Crystalline Peptide Derivatives: Oligo(glutamic acid)s Forming Hydrogen-Bonded Columns, Org. Biomol. Chem., 3, 875 (2005).

In the design of liquid-crystalline materials, appropriate tuning of molecular shapes and interactions is essential.
We have developed thermotropic liquid-crystalline oligopeptide derivatives forming columnar assemblies. Oligo(glutamic acid)s derivatives having branched structures show hexagonal columnar phases, in which intermolecular hydrogen bonds of amino acids moieties significantly contribute in the induction of liquid-crystalline properties.