ISSN 0012-5016, Doklady Physical Chemistry, 2014, Vol. 455, Part 2, pp. 56–59. © Pleiades Publishing, Ltd., 2014. Original Russian Text © I.V. Lunev, A.A. Khamzin, I.I. Popov, M.N. Ovchinnikov, I.S. Ryzhkina, O.M. Mishina, Yu.V. Kiseleva, A.I. Konovalov, 2014, published in Doklady Akademii Nauk, 2014, Vol. 455, No. 6, pp. 656–660. 56 A previously unknown phenomenon consisting in the formation of nanosized molecular ensembles, referred to as nanoassociates, in aqueous solutions of low concentrations (down to 10 –20 mol/L) have been studied [1–6]. Concentration dependences of nanoas- sociate size are nonmonotonic. This size changes from a few tens to a few hundreds of nanometers. Although the appearance of nanoassociates is initiated by a sol- ute, they are mainly composed of ordered water struc- tures. Prerequisites for the nanoassociate formation in aqueous solutions are the action of external physical fields (geomagnetic field and low-frequency electro- magnetic fields) and a definite structure of a solute [2]. A correlation has been found between nanoassociate parameters (the size and ζ-potential) and physico- chemical properties of solutions (electric conductivity, pH surface tension), as well as between nanoassociate parameters and the bioeffects of solutions [3, 4, 10]. A combined study of low-concentration solutions (10 –7 –10 –11 mol/L) of membranotropic amphiphilic calix[4]resorcinarene with tris(hydroxymethyl)meth- ylamide groups (1) by dynamic light scattering (DLS) and atomic force microscopy (AFM) has demon- strated that nanoassociates are capable to further self- organize into structures the size (1–3 μm) and shape of which changes as a function of concentration of 1. The emergence of optical activity in solutions of sur- face-inactive compound 1 in the range of low concen- trations with a maximum at 1 × 10 –10 mol/L has been revealed for the first time. It has been suggested that the appearance of unique physicochemical properties, in particular, optical activity, of low-concentration solutions is due to formation, by nanoassociates, of more complex spatial structures [5]. Thus, by now, experimental data on the correlation between concentration-induced nanoassociate rear- rangements and the appearance of unique physicochem- ical properties of low-concentration solutions have been accumulated and, for an understanding of these data, the nature of nanoassociates should be known. Among physicochemical methods used for study- ing intermolecular interactions in liquids, an impor- tant place is occupied by dielectric spectroscopy, which provides information on the structure of solu- tions [7]. In this context, the present work is aimed at study- ing solutions of 1 by the dielectric spectroscopy method, namely, at measuring the dielectric permittiv- ity as a function of frequency, the alternating current (ac) conductivity, and concentration dependences of the direct current (dc) conductivity of low concentra- tion solutions of 1 (1 × 10 –6 –1 × 10 –12 mol/L). Solutions were prepared with the use of double dis- tilled water; the quality of the latter was monitored by measuring the conductivity, surface tension, and DLS. 1 O O O O NH HN OH HO OH OH HO O O O O N N OH OH OH OH O O O O HN NH OH HO HO OH O O O O N N HO HO OH HO OH OH OH HO OH HO HO H H H H PHYSICAL CHEMISTRY Dielectric Spectroscopy Study of Low-Concentration Aqueous Solutions of a Calix[4]resorcinarene Derivative I. V. Lunev a , A. A. Khamzin a , I. I. Popov a , M. N. Ovchinnikov a , I. S. Ryzhkina b , O. M. Mishina b , Yu. V. Kiseleva b , and Academician A. I. Konovalov b Received December 5, 2013 DOI: 10.1134/S0012501614060013 a Kazan (Volga) Federal University, ul. Kremlevskaya 18, Kazan, 420008 Tatarstan, Russia e-mail: airat.khamzin@rambler.ru b Arbuzov Institute of Organic and Physical Chemistry, Kazan Scientific Center, Russian Academy of Sciences, ul. Akademika Arbuzova 8, Kazan, 420083 Tatarstan, Russia