Micelles of 1-alkyl glucoside and maltoside: Anomeric effects on structure and induced chirality

Structures formed by self-assembly of α- and β-1-n-octyl-D-glucopyranoside and β-1-n-dodecyl-D-maltoside in water depend upon the configuration at the anomeric center. The β-anomers form aggregates of size comparable to normal ionic micelles, while the α-glucoside is sparingly soluble in water and forms very large, nonspherical assemblies. This contrasting behavior suggests that the head group configuration controls its orientation to the apolar residue and, consequently, the packing of monomers in self-assemblies.The β-anome the latter is evidence of its strong interaction with micellized β-maltoside.