Fulleropeptide esters as potential self-assembled antioxidants

The potential use of amphiphilic fullerene derivatives as a bionanomaterial was investigated by cyclic voltammetry (CV), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and the ferrous ion oxidation–xylenol orange (FOX) method. Despite the disrupted delocalization of the π-electronic system over the C₆₀ sphere, its antioxidant capacity remained high for all twelve derivatives. The compounds expressed up to two-fold and 5–12-fold better peroxide quenching capacity as compared to pristine C₆₀ and standard antioxidant vitamin C, respectively. During precipitation and slow evaporation of the solvent, all compounds underwent spontaneous self-assembly giving ordered structures. The size and morphology of the resulting particles depend primarily on the sample concentration, and somewhat on the side chain structure.