Figure 1

Chemical structure of the amphiphilic fullerene(AF-1) monomer. AF-1 readily self assembles into buckysomes. The AF-1 monomer has a molecular weight of 5022 and has six groups attached to the fullerene in an octahedral arrangement with C_2v symmetry. The functional group at the top of the molecule is a dendritic moiety containing 18 carboxylic acid groups. At the other 5 positions are pairs of C₁₂ esters (dodecyl malonates). The pK_a of the carboxylic acid groups is 7.5 ± 0.127 and thus AF-1 is more soluble at higher pH units [27]. The molecule precipitates out of solution when the pH is less than 3. The average dimension of about 3.5 nm along the main polar axis is similar to that of natural phospho- or glycolipids [24]. In contrast, the typical diameters found in directions perpendicular to this axis are considerably larger that those found for natural double-chain lipids. (Figure reproduced from reference 24).