Structure–property relationships in a series of diglycerol tetraether model lipids and their lyotropic assemblies: the effect of branching topology and chirality
preparation of diglyceroltetraethers was either performed by condensing suitable blocked monoglycerol diethers by Grubbs metathesis or by reaction of the transmembrane C32-chain with blocked glycerols followed by further alkylation steps. Finally, we could show that the resulting lipids can form closed lipid vesicles comparable to the opticallypure counterparts. Therefore, these much simpler lipids compared
Three new, chain-modified, opticallypurediglyceroltetraetherlipids with one membrane-spanning chain have been synthesised. These lipids contain a different number and constitution of the methyl branches connected to the hydrophobic chains as compared with natural archaeal or other previously synthesised lipids. The correct chirality of the branched alkyl chain was introduced starting from commercially