We introduce here a novel Pickering emulsion using self-assembled amphiphilic triblock oligoglycine as the emulsifier. Peptide amphiphiles are more responsive to environmental changes (e.g., pH, temperature, and ionic strength) than inorganic 2D materials, which have a chemically rigid, in-plane structure. We provide new evidence that the biantennary oligoglycine, Gly4−NH−C10H20−NH−Gly4, selfassembles into 2D platelet structures, denoted as tectomers,[1-3] in solution at a neutral buffered pH using small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) and molecular dynamics simulations. We discovered that the lamellar oligoglycine platelets adsorbed at an oil/water interface and stabilized oil-in-water emulsions. The length of a linear biantennary oligoglycine molecule according to modeling, is close to the repeating distance of the lamella obtained via the first-reported use of grazing-incidence small-angle X-ray scattering (GISAXS) on a purified and dried film collected from the biantennary oligoglycine adsorbed at the oil/water interface. In contrast, the height of a U-shaped molecule from modeling does not agree with the lamellar distance.

Abstract of the work presented at the XXXIX Reunión Bienal de la RSEQ, 25-29 june 2023, Zaragoza (Spain).