A Stable Green Amino Acid Hydrogel

Graphical The self-assembly behaviors of twelve sodium natural amino acids with eight metal ions were studied systematically. It is surprising that only sodium L-Phenylalanine can gel into hydrogel with ZnCl 2 . The formation of hydrogel is triggered mainly via π-π stacking and metal-ligand interactions. Moreover, this green L-Phenylalanine hydrogel displays acid responsiveness and relatively stablity under high temperature, which has great potential applications in many fields. Natural amino acids are the most important building blocks in supramolecular chemistry which possess the best biocompatibility in nature. To the best of our knowledge, although hydrogels based on amino acid derivatives have already been studied widely, there is still no report about natural amino acids hydrogels constructed by metal ions induction method. Herein, the self-assembly behaviors of twelve natural amino acids with eight metal ions were studied systematically. It is surprising that only sodium L-Phenylalanine can self-assemble into hydrogel with ZnCl 2 . Various methods were used to investigate the formation mechanism of hydrogel. The formation of hydrogel is triggered mainly via π-π stacking and metal-ligand interactions. Moreover, this green L-Phenylalanine hydrogel displays acid responsiveness and relatively stability under high temperature, which has great potential applications in many fields.