Supramolecular hydrogels formed by self-assembly of low-molecular-weight amphiphiles (hydrogelators) have attracted significant attention, as smart and soft materials. However, most of the observed stimuli-responsive behaviour of these supramolecular hydrogels are limited to gel-sol transitions. In this study, we present bola-amphiphilic glycosylated lipopeptide-type supramolecular hydrogelators that exhibit reversible thermochromism along with a gel-sol transition. The bola-amphiphiles have mono-, di-, tri- or tetra-phenylalanine (F) as a short peptide moiety. We investigate and discuss the effects of the number of F residues on the gelation ability and the morphology of the self-assembled nanostructures.
Keywords: chromism; peptide; self-assembly; supramolecular hydrogel.