Bilayer membranes of amphiphilic crown ethers with amino acid residue.
An amphiphilic crown ether (5) with amino acid residues and two long hydrocarbon chains(2C12) was synthesized and the membrane(vesicle) properties of 5 were examined. 5 spontaneously formed a stable bilayer membrane and gave uniform single unilamellar vesicles(SUV). The resulting SUV showed strong retaining power related to the release of a trapped fluorescent marker and a highly selective complexing ability for specific metal cations.