Self-assembly of novel ureido dipeptide esters and investigation of its gelation property

Abstract

Ureido group is an interesting moiety as hydrogen donor and acceptor functionalities are present. Peptides are intriguing molecules as their properties are easily tuned and they are biocompatible. Therefore, four ureido dipeptide esters were synthesized using simple solution phase synthesis and characterized. Their biological activity was investigated against Streptococcus pyogenes, Staphylococcus aureus and E. coli. A rheological study was carried out to study the gelation properties of the synthesized compounds. Their ability to self-assemble into different morphologies was studied using SEM. The morphology of cubes, sheets, spheres, and rods was observed in the SEM study. These compounds will have potential applications in the medicinal field as drug delivery vehicles.