Rhamnolipids (RMLs) are a widely studied biosurfactant due to their high biodegradability and environmentally friendly production. However, the knowledge of the structure-property relationship of RMLs is imperative for the design of highly efficient applications. Aiming to a better understanding of it at a molecular level, we performed an automated search for low energy structures of the most abundant RMLs, namely, Rha-C10 , Rha-C10 -C10 , Rha-Rha-C10 and Rha-Rha-C10 -C10 and their respective C2 -congeners. Besides that, selected neutral metal complexes were also considered. We found that several low-energy congeners have internal hydrogen bonds. Moreover, geometries in "closed" conformation were always more stable than "open" ones. Finally, the energy diferences between open and closed conformations of K+ , Ni2+ , Cu2+ and Zn2+ complexes were found to be 23.5 kcal mol-1 , 62.8 kcal mol-1 , 24.3 kcal mol-1 and 41.6 kcal mol-1 , respectively, indicating a huge structural reorganization after the complex formation.

Institute of Biophysics Czech Academy of Science Brno Czech Republic

Instituto de Química sala 302 Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro Cidade Universitária Avenida Athos da Silveira Ramos 149 21941 909 Rio de Janeiro Brazil

International Clinical Research Center St Anne's University Hospital Brno Czech Republic

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