A comprehensive review of the features driving self-assembly of 12-hydroxystearic acid (12-HSA), a low molecular weight gelator (LMWG), and its applications in drug delivery and as other soft innovative materials are presented herein. 12-HSA is obtained via hydrogenation of ricinoleic acid naturally found in high concentrations in castor oil. The ability of 12-HSA to self-assemble is associated with the presence, position and enantiomeric purity of the hydroxy group along the fatty acid chain. The polarity and position of the hydroxyl group facilitates more interaction possibilities leading to its exceptional self-assembly behavior giving rise to fibers, ribbons and tubes in a variety of solvents. Upon self-assembly, 12-HSA undergoes crystallization resulting in the formation of high aspect ratio fibrillar structures due to non-covalent, inter-molecular interactions forming self-spanning, three-dimensional (3D) networks (called self-assembled fibrillar networks (SAFiNs)) in both aqueous and organic solvents. Herein, emphasis is placed on emerging applications of 12-HSA supramolecular assemblies (i.e., responsive aqueous foams, gelled complex fluids, drug delivery systems, hydrogels, organogels, xerogels, and aerogel). The vast literature is compiled associated with 12-HSA self-assembly exploring supramolecular assemblies based on one ambidextrous gelator capable of assembling in aqueous and non-aqueous solvent.

本文介绍了驱动12-羟基硬脂酸（12-HSA），低分子量胶凝剂（LMWG）自组装的功能及其在药物递送中的应用以及作为其他软创新材料的全面综述。通过获得12-HSA自然存在于蓖麻油中的高浓度蓖麻油酸的氢化。12-HSA自组装的能力与沿着脂肪酸链的羟基的存在，位置和对映体纯度有关。羟基的极性和位置促进了更多的相互作用可能性，从而导致其异常的自组装行为，从而在各种溶剂中产生了纤维，带状物和管状物。自组装后，12-HSA发生结晶，由于非共价分子间相互作用形成了自跨度的三维（3D）网络（称为自组装的原纤维网络（ SAFiNs））在水性和有机溶剂中。在此，重点放在12-HSA超分子组装的新兴应用（即 ，响应性水性泡沫，胶凝复合流体，药物输送系统，水凝胶，有机凝胶，干凝胶和气凝胶）。汇编了大量文献，涉及基于一种能够在水性和非水性溶剂中进行组装的灵巧凝胶器的12-HSA自组装探索超分子组装。