Thermoresponsive characteristics of oligo(ethylene glycol) derivatives of lithocholic acid (LCA) depend on the hydrophilic/hydrophobic balance of the compounds. Below a threshold temperature (similar to 30 degrees C), one of the derivatives, LCA(EG(4))(2), self-assembles in water into hollow nanotubes that form thixotropic gels at high concentrations. Two concentration regimes were observed in the plateau moduli (G(0) similar to G'). At high concentrations, the mobility of the nanotubes is restricted at the ordered microdomains acting as cross-links. In semidilute aqueous solutions, the linkers between the aggregated domains in the fragile gel rupture easily, and this effect depends strongly on dilution. Organic hydrophobic additives perturb the self-assembling process, leading to changes in the two transition temperatures and poorer mechanical properties of the gel.