Synthesis and physico-chemical characterization of fatty esters

Specific antioxidant molecules (e.g. phenolics) help to prevent oxidation reaction of the cell membrane. A fatty chain grafted on these compounds should enhance their capacity to interact with the membrane lipids.
In our study, three fatty esters comprising an aromatic part were synthesized. They differentiate the aromatic substituent and the number of carbons between the aromatic ring and the ester function. A structure-function relationships study was performed to identify the structural pattern affecting the interfacial properties and the membrane interaction properties. The behavior of their monolayer film at an air-water interface was studied. The interactions with membrane were assessed on living cells and were predicted by a computational approach.
In the future, we will investigate the effect of the presence of a sugar unit on these molecules.