In this review, we report the most important contributions in the structure, synthesis, physicochemical (surface adsorption, aggregation and phase behaviour) and biological properties (toxicity, antimicrobial activity and biodegradation) of Gemini natural amino acid-based surfactants, and some potential applications, with an emphasis on the use of these surfactants as non-viral delivery system agents. Gemini surfactants derived from basic (Arg, Lys), neutral (Ser, Ala, Sar), acid (Asp) and sulphur containing amino acids (Cys) as polar head groups, and Geminis with amino acids/peptides in the spacer chain are reviewed.

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Surfactants are chemical products consumed in large quantities every day on a worldwide scale. The development of less irritant, less toxic, consumer-friendly surfactants is, therefore, of general interest. Amino-acid-based surfactants constitute a novel class of surfactants produced from renewable raw materials and can be seen as an alternative to conventional surfactants. With the aim of testing their applicability in formulations for pharmaceutical, food, and cosmetic industries we have carried out exhaustive studies to elucidate their properties as surfactants. We considered amino acid-based surfactants with one single chain, cystine or arginine gemini surfactants, lysine derivatives, and surfactants with glycerolipid-like structure.

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Covalent organic frameworks (COFs) are commonly synthetized under harsh conditions yielding unprocessable powders. Control in their crystallization process and growth has been limited to studies conducted in hazardous organic solvents. Herein, we report a one-pot synthetic method that yields stable aqueous colloidal solutions of sub-20 nm crystalline imine-based COF particles at room temperature and ambient pressure. Additionally, through the combination of experimental and computational studies, we investigated the mechanisms and forces underlying the formation of such imine-based COF colloids in water. Further, we show that our method can be used to process the colloidal solution into 2D and 3D COF shapes, as well as to generate a COF ink that can be directly printed onto surfaces. These findings should open new vistas in COF chemistry enabling new application areas.