The potential use of amphiphilic fullerene derivatives as a bionanomaterial was investigated by cyclic voltammetry (CV), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and the ferrous ion oxidation-xylenol orange (FOX) method. Despite the disrupted delocalization of the π-electronic system over the C60 sphere, its antioxidant capacity remained high for all twelve derivatives. The compounds expressed up to two-fold and 5-12-fold better peroxide quenching capacity as compared to pristine C60 and standard antioxidant vitamin C, respectively. During precipitation and slow evaporation of the solvent, all compounds underwent spontaneous self-assembly giving ordered structures. The size and morphology of the resulting particles depend primarily on the sample concentration, and somewhat on the side chain structure.
Keywords: FOX assay; antioxidant activity; cyclic voltammetry; fulleropeptide esters; scanning electron microscopy.