Organogelators are a class of compounds useful for a variety of applications ranging from drug delivery, to scaffolded material synthesis, to environmental remediation. While gels have proven to be extremely useful much is still unknown about the wide variety of factors that cause gel formation and that affect the properties of the gel itself. This project attempts to explore how variations in the structure of the gelator can affect the properties of the gel it forms. Specifically, a range of amphiphilic compounds were synthesized utilizing galactose as its polar region and alkyl chains of varied length for its nonpolar region. This project attempts to draw a correlation between nonpolar chain length of the gelator and the viscosity and solubilizing properties of the gel it forms. This was achieved by first synthesizing each compound via a two-step synthesis/deprotection reaction scheme. Then each compound underwent spectroscopic analysis to ensure the proper structure. Next an optimum solvent system was elucidated for each compound. Finally, each compound was tested for its viscosity using a simple copper bead drop test and various molecules were tested with the gel to determine its solubilizing capabilities. The results of this experiment and their implications will be discussed.<br/>

Effects of alkyl chain length on carbohydrate organogel formation and properties

253rd National Meeting (2017)

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