Arginine diacyl-glycerolipid conjugates as multifunctional biocompatible surfactants

Amino acid glycerolipid conjugates constitute a novel class of lipoamino acids, which can be considered analogues of partial glycerides and phospholipids. They consist of one or two aliphatic chains and one amino acid polar head, linked together through a glycerol moiety. In this article, a description of diacyl glycerolipid conjugates from acetyl-arginine including preparation, physicochemical properties, membrane interaction and its relation with biological properties are described. In particular, we will give details about the following compounds: 1,2-dilauroyl-rac-glycero-3-O-(Nα-acetyl-l-arginine) (1212RAc), with 12 carbon atoms in the alkyl chains and 1,2-dimiristoyl-rac-glycero-3-O-(Nαacetyl- l-arginine) (1414RAc), with 14 carbon atoms in the alkyl chains.