Fmoc‐Diphenylalanine Self Assembles to a Hydrogel via a Novel Architecture Based on π–π Interlocked β‐Sheets

The self assembly of peptide hydrogelators that carry aromatic substituents can be modeled by a novel nanocylindrical architecture. The proposed model suggests that the nanocylinders are formed by anti-parallel β-sheets interlocked by the π-stacking interactions of fluorenyl groups and phenyl rings. This explanation is consistent with the structures observed in TEM and the data obtained by a variety of spectroscopic techniques. Supporting information for this article is available on the WWW under http://www.wiley-vch.de/contents/jc_2089/2008/c1221_s.pdf or from the author. Please note: The publisher is not responsible for the content or functionality of any supporting information supplied by the authors. Any queries (other than missing content) should be directed to the corresponding author for the article.