Electrochemical, theoretical, and morphological studies of antioxidant fullerosteroids

Four fullerosteroidal conjugates, previously confirmed to express two- to threefold better antioxidant activity in vitro than C-60, were subjected to additional studies, including electrochemical, theoretical, and morphological examination. All tested compounds underwent reversible, diffusion-controlled reductions. A notable influence of the solvent properties on the reduction potential, the level of aggregation, and the lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (LUMO) energy was observed. Theoretical calculations indicated that the energy gain obtained by an intermediate formation, together with compounds' polarizability, polarity, and lipophilicity contributed to the radical quenching capacity. Very large supramolecular aggregates of all fullerosteroidal esters with no hierarchical arrangement were observed in precipitated samples, while solvent induced self-assembling led to round nanoplates, which further arranged to flower-shaped hierarchically ordered architectures or uniformly distributed discoid particles. As in electrochemical studies, fine tuning of the aggregation level was achieved by the solvent.