The photochemical and photophysical consequences of attaching reactive chromophores to the hydrohpobic tail of amphiphilic molecules will be investigated. The thrust of the program will be to define the structural features of the microheterogeneous systems which dictate the resultant reaction processes. The reactive groups to be investigated include styryl and stilbene moieties. Bifunctional phospholipids will be utilized in order to provide molecular species which have spatially exact geometries. These geometries place reactive functional groups in favorable positions for reactions such as cycloadditions. Interactions between reactive groups such as stilbenes, styrenes, and polyenes will be studied in dilute, mixed, and pure dispersions in an attempt to separate intermolecular and intramolecular processes. %%% This grant from the Organic Dynamics Program supports the continuing work of Professor David Whitten at the University of Rochester. The studies will be directed to establishing a better understanding of the factors which control chemical reactions in heterogeneous systems. The systems to be investigated are unique molecules which have both hydrophilic (attracted to water) and hydrophobic (repelled by water) properties. By incorporating reactive chemical groups that are responsive to light as an integral part of these molecules, it is possible to produce a variety of reactions which might otherwise fail to occur. Implications for the medical and materials areas of science are numerous.
