Bolaamphiphiles (also known as
bolaform surfactants,
bolaphiles, or
alpha-omega-type surfactants) are
amphiphilic molecules that have
hydrophilic groups at both ends of a sufficiently long
hydrophobic hydrocarbon chain. Compared to single- headed
amphiphiles, the introduction of a second head- group generally induces a higher solubility in water, an increase in the
critical micelle concentration (cmc), and a decrease in aggregation number. The aggregate morphologies of bolaamphiphiles include spheres, cylinders, disks, and vesicles. Bolamphiphiles are also known to form helical structures, that can form microtubular self assemblies.