Controlling molecular self-organization: formation of nanometer-scale spheres and tubules

A tetrahedron from homooxacalix[3]arene, the fifth Platonic polyhedron from calixarenes and uranyl

A self-assembled tetrahedral cage results from two C ₃-symmetry building blocks, namely, homooxacalix[3]arene tricarboxylate and uranyl cation, as demonstrated by X-ray crystallography. In the cage, four metals coordinate at the lower rim with the phenolic and ether oxygen atoms to shape the macrocycle with appropriate dihedral angles for tetrahedron formation, whereas four additional uranyl cations further coordinate at the upper-rim carboxylates to finalize the assembly. Counterions dictate the filling and porosity of the aggregates, whereas potassium induces highly porous structures, and tetrabutylammonium yields compact, densely packed frameworks. The tetrahedron metallo-cage complements our previous report (Pasquale et al., Nat. Commun., 2012, 3, 785) on uranyl-organic frameworks (UOFs) from calix[4]arene and calix[5]arene carboxylates (octahedral/cubic and icosahedral/dodecahedral giant cages, respectively) and completes the assembly of all five Platonic solids from just two chemical components.

"Rim-Differentiated" Pillar[6]arenes

A "rim-differentiated" pillar[6]arene (RD-P[6]) was obtained successfully, with the assistance of a dimeric silver trifluoroacetate template, among eight different constitutional isomers in a direct and regioselective manner. The solid-state conformation of this macrocycle could switch from the 1,3,5-alternate to a truly rim-differentiated one upon guest inclusion. This highly symmetric RD-P[6] not only hosts metal-containing molecules inside its cavity, but also can form a pillar[6]arene-C₆₀ adduct through co-crystallization on account of donor-acceptor interactions. The development of synthetic strategies to desymmetrize pillararenes offers new opportunities for engineering complex molecular architectures and organic electronic materials.

Structure-based design and synthesis of copper(ii) complexes as antivirus drug candidates targeting SARS CoV-2 and HIV

This paper describes the structure-based design and synthesis of two novel square-planar trans-N2O2 Cu(ii) complexes [Cu(L1)2] (1) and [Cu(L2)2] (2) of 2-((Z)-(4-methoxyphenylimino)methyl)-4,6-dichlorophenol (L1H) and 2-((Z)-(2,4-dibromophenylimino)methyl)-4-bromophenol (L2H) as potential inhibitors against the main protease of the SARS-CoV-2 and HIV viruses.

Synthesis and characterization of novel copper(ii) complexes as potential drug candidates against SARS-CoV-2 main protease

Two novel copper(ii) Schiff base complexes, [Cu(L1)2] (1) and [Cu(L2)(CH3OH)(Cl)] (2) of [(Z)-(5-chloro-2-((3,5-dichloro-2-hydroxybenzylidene)amino)phenyl)(phenyl)methanone (L1H) and (Z)-(2((5-bromo-2-hydroxybenzylidene)amino-5-chlorophenyl)(phenyl)methanone)(L2H)], have been designed, synthesized and characterized.

Novel keto-enol tautomerism in 1,3,5-trihydroxybenzene systems

We report a new synthesis of the water-soluble compound 1,3,5-trihydroxy-2,4,6-trimethylsulfonic acid (1), which exists in two tautomeric forms (60 : 40::enol%:keto%) and can be used as a proton conductor. Quantum chemical calculations show the importance of intramolecular hydrogen bonding and the presence of implicit MeOH solvent on the relative stabilities of the tautomers. 1 complexes with lanthanides through its sulfonato groups and forms a layered cage-like structure with one intramolecular and two intermolecular hydrogen bonds.

Metal-organic tube or layered assembly: reversible sheet-to-tube transformation and adaptive recognition

Rational preparation of an adaptive cavity-like enzyme is a great challenge for chemists. Herein, a new self-assembly strategy for the rational preparation of metal-organic tubes with nano-channels has been developed; both 1D metal-organic tube and corresponding 2D layered assemblies can be selectively synthesized driven by different templates; reversible sheet-to-tube transformation can be realized and the key intermediate has been identified. Furthermore, the newly formed nano-channel displays excellent polarity-selectivity for encapsulation of guest molecules, and can be further expanded or contracted through guest-driven adaptive deformation; even induced by very similar guest molecules, the adaptive deformations can also be obviously distinguished. Finally, the key chemicals benzene/hexane with a similar size can also be effectively separated by such nano-channels in the liquid phase. Our work not only provides a new synthetic strategy for the rational synthesis of metal-organic tubes with a reversible sheet-to-tube transformation character, but also gives a potential method for the construction of adaptive host-like enzymes and an in-depth understanding of the nature of adaptive host and guest molecules.

A self-assembled nanotube supported by halogen bonding interactions

Upper-rim halogenation of a calix[4]arene modulates the packing of self-assembled nanotubes through the formation of complementary halogen bonding interactions.

Assembly of calix[4]arene carboxylic acid derivatives by hydrogen bonding

Crystallisation of seven calix[4]arene derivatives leads to the formation of a “head-to-head” or “head-to-tail” dimer motif through hydrogen bonding.

An Indirect Synthetic Approach toward Conformationally Constrained 20-Membered Unclosed Cryptands via Late-Stage Installation of Intraannular Substituents

A new protocol for PTC-mediated O-alkylation of the intraannular position of 20-membered unclosed cryptands (UCs) is reported. In contrast to the classical, "direct" strategy, which requires functionalization of the lariat arm at the beginning of synthesis, this "indirect" approach enables the late-stage introduction of various benzylic substituents after an unfavorable macrocyclization step (11 examples, yields up to 98%). Notably, this method permits preparation of, previously inaccessible, crowded UCs bearing 1-acetylpyrene substituent and dimer joined by p-xylene linker.

Phase dependent structural perturbation of a robust multicomponent assembled icosahedral array

We report on the assembly of three-fold axially compressed icosahedral arrays of the bowl shaped p-sulfonatocalix[4]arene molecules in the solid-state, intricately bound to dipicolinate and yttrium(iii) ions, with the compression reflected in Hirshfeld surface analyses. Solution studies show dissolution of the icosahedra intact, but with a geometrical rearrangement to regular icosahedra.

Rediscovering the Monodispersity of Sulfonatocalix[4]arene-Based Micelles

When the micellar aggregation number ( N_agg) is small enough (<30), the N_agg matches the value of vertexes of a regular polyhedron: Platonic solids, and demonstrates perfect monodispersity. These micelles are named Platonic micelles and are particularly found in the system of calix[4]arene-based micelles due to the rigid structure of the backbone molecule. Although sulfonatocalix[4]arene-based micelles are among the most studied host molecules in supramolecular chemistry, their micellar properties as Platonic micelles have thus far been overlooked. In this study, we prepared various sulfonatocalix[4]arene-based amphiphiles bearing alkyl chains with different lengths and investigated their aggregation behavior. When the amphiphiles formed spherical micelles, they demonstrated monodispersity in terms of N_agg, whose value changed from 4 to 17, and then to 24, upon increasing the carbon number in each alkyl chain from C5 to C6, and then to C7, respectively. Although the numbers 17 and 24 do not match the vertices of regular polyhedra, these values can be reasonably explained by the Thomson problem, which considers the Coulomb potential for calculating the best packing on a sphere with multiple identical spherical caps. This study describes rediscovery of the monodispersity of sulfonatocalix[4]arene-based micelles, which is consistent with the idea of Platonic micelles.

A monomeric bowl-like pyrogallol[4]arene Ti12 coordination complex

Herein, an unprecedented monomeric bowl-like coordination complex, Ti₁₂PgC₃ (PgC₃ = C-propylpyrogallol[4]arene), has been successfully synthesized. To the best of our knowledge, Ti₁₂PgC₃ not only presents the first pyrogallol[4]arene-based titanium coordination complex, but also the highest nuclearity titanium coordination complex in the metal-calixarene system. In addition, this titanium coordination complex can effectively degrade the methylene blue (MB) dye under sunlight.

A metal-calixarene coordination nanotube with 5-(pyrimidin-5-yl)isophthalic acid

A coordination nanotube with truncated metal-calixarene octahedra exhibited a good ability to separate CH₄ from C₂H₆ and from C₃H₈.

Pyrene-box capsules for adaptive encapsulation and structure determination of unstable or non-crystalline guest molecules

“Pyrene-box” cages easily crystallize from aqueous solutions and readily encapsulate compounds of biological interest.

Homochiral Evolution in Self-Assembled Chiral Polymers and Block Copolymers

The significance of chirality transfer is not only involved in biological systems, such as the origin of homochiral structures in life but also in man-made chemicals and materials. How the chiral bias transfers from molecular level (molecular chirality) to helical chain (conformational chirality) and then to helical superstructure or phase (hierarchical chirality) from self-assembly is vital for the chemical and biological processes in nature, such as communication, replication, and enzyme catalysis. In this Account, we summarize the methodologies for the examination of homochiral evolution at different length scales based on our recent studies with respect to the self-assembly of chiral polymers and chiral block copolymers (BCPs*). A helical (H*) phase to distinguish its P622 symmetry from that of normal hexagonally packed cylinder phase was discovered in the self-assembly of BCPs* due to the chirality effect on BCP self-assembly. Enantiomeric polylactide-containing BCPs*, polystyrene-b-poly(l-lactide) (PS-PLLA) and polystyrene-b-poly(d-lactide) (PS-PDLA), were synthesized for the examination of homochiral evolution. The optical activity (molecular chirality) of constituted chiral repeating unit in the chiral polylactide is detected by electronic circular dichroism (ECD) whereas the conformational chirality of helical polylactide chain can be explicitly determined by vibrational circular dichroism (VCD). The H* phases of the self-assembled polylactide-containing BCPs* can be directly visualized by 3D transmission electron microscopy (3D TEM) technique at which the handedness (hierarchical chirality) of the helical nanostructure is thus determined. The results from the ECD, VCD, and 3D TEM for the investigated chirality at different length scales suggest the homochiral evolution in the self-assembly of the BCPs*. For chiral polylactides, twisted lamellae in crystalline banded spherulite can be formed by dense packing scheme and effective interactions upon helical chains from self-assembly. The handedness of the twisted lamella can be determined by using rotation experiment of polarized light microscopy (PLM). Similar to the self-assembly of BCPs*, the examined results suggest the homochiral evolution in the crystallized chiral polylactides. The results presented in this Account demonstrate the notable progress in the spectral and morphological determination for the examination of molecular, conformational, and hierarchical chirality in self-assembled twisted superstructures of chiral polymers and helical phases of block copolymers and suggest the attainability of homochiral evolution in the self-assembly of chiral homopolymers and BCPs*. The suggested methodologies for the understanding of the mechanisms of the chirality transfer at different length scales provide the approaches to give Supporting Information for disclosing the mysteries of the homochiral evolution from molecular level.

Hydrophobic metallo-supramolecular Pd2L4 cages for zwitterionic guest encapsulation in organic solvents

Hydrophobic metallo-supramolecular cages are selectively encapsulating hydrophilic zwitterionic guests in organic solvents via synergetic multivalent recognition.

Surveying macrocyclic chemistry: from flexible crown ethers to rigid cyclophanes

This review features the progress made in the development of macrocycles since Pedersen's ground-breaking discovery of the crown ethers in 1967.

2,2′-Biphen[n]arenes (n = 4–8): one-step, high-yield synthesis, and host–guest properties

A new family of supramolecular macrocycles, 2,2′-biphen[n]arenes (n = 4–8), has been synthesized through a single-step reaction with a yield of 51%.

In Situ Construction and Characterization of Chlorin-Based Supramolecular Aggregates in Tumor Cells

We demonstrate in situ construction and characterization of supramolecular aggregates from chlorin p6 (Cp6) molecules in tumor cells. Fully deprotonated Cp6 molecules in neutral condition were partially protonated inside the acidic lysosomes of cells and significantly increased the hydrophobicity of them that resulted in simultaneous formation of J-type aggregates. Importantly, the formation of J-aggregates was fully characterized in artificial tissues by UV-vis, circular dichroism (CD) and transmission electron microscope (TEM) techniques. Compared to the monomers, the J-aggregates exhibited 55-fold enhanced thermal conversion efficiency (η) at the optimal excitation wavelength (690 nm). The remarkably increased heat effect contributed to the stronger photoacoustic (PA) signals, leading to at least 2 orders of magnitude increase of the tumor-to-normal tissue ratio (T/N), which was defined as the PA signal ratio between tumor site and surrounding normal tissue. We envision that this proof-of-concept study will open a new way to develop tumor environment-induced self-assembly for variable biomedical applications.

Conformational Preferences and the Phase Stability of Fullerene Hexa-adducts

Molecular conformation and the assembly structure determine the spatial arrangements of the constituent units and the functions of a molecule. Although, fullerene hexa-adducts (FHAs) have been known as functional materials with great versatility, their conformational preferences and phase stability remain a complicate issue. By choosing bithiophene (T2 ) and dodecyl bithiophene (C12 T2 ) as the peripheral units of FHA, and using microscopic, scattering and diffraction characterizations, our study reveals how the intramolecular interaction and environmental stimulus affects the conformational preferences and phase stability of FHAs.

A triple-function nanotube as a reactant reservoir, reaction platform, and byproduct scavenger for photo-cyclopropanation

Herein, we report the advanced-concept triple-functionality of a metal-organic nanotube (MONT), which acts as a reservoir for unstable reactants, a photoreaction platform, and a scavenger for byproduct iodine. Self-assembly of CdI2 with a new Y-type ligand (L) produces the substantial 1D MOF, [CdI2(L)], thus forming a thick nanotube with a 1.4 nm diameter.

Self-induced organic guest packed in three-dimensional architecture based on hetero-alkali metallic sulfonatothiacalix[4]arene

Inclusion behavior of pyridine N-oxide in the cavity of hetero-alkali metallic sulfonatothaicalix[4]arene was studied by single crystal X-ray diffraction studies. π–π stacking, S–π interactions and hydrogen bonding were mainly supported this complex.

Inclusion complexes of Cethyl-2-methylresorcinarene and pyridine N-oxides: breaking the C–I⋯−O–N+ halogen bond by host–guest complexation

C_ethyl-2-Methylresorcinarene and aromatic N-oxides manifest host–guest chemistry by C–H⋯π interactions and halogen bonding; the C–I⋯⁻O–N⁺ halogen bond with 2-iodopyridine N-oxide is broken by the in-cavity C–I⋯π interactions.

Manipulating three-dimensional gel network entanglement by thin film shearing

A novel method of combining thin-film shearing with SANS resulted in complete disruption of 3-D network of fluorous bis-urea gel. In contrast, non-fluorinated analogue undergoes partial disruption which emphasizes the resistance of non-fluorous bis-urea gelators towards shear.

Syntheses and crystal structures of benzene-sulfonate and -carboxylate copper polymers and their application in the oxidation of cyclohexane in ionic liquid under mild conditions

Enhanced catalytic activities of copper polymers for the peroxidative oxidation of cyclohexane are observed in an ionic liquid medium.

Methylresorcinarene: a reaction vessel to control the coordination geometry of copper(II) in pyridine N-oxide copper(II) complexes

Pyridine and 2-picolinic acid N-oxides form 2 : 2 and 2 : 1 ligand : metal (L : M) discrete L2M2 and polymeric complexes with CuCl2 and Cu(NO3)2, respectively, with copper(ii) salts. The N-oxides also form 1 : 1 host-guest complexes with methylresorcinarene. In combination, the three components form a unique 2 : 2 : 1 host-ligand-metal complex. The methylresorcinarene acts as a reaction vessel/protecting group to control the coordination of copper(ii) from cis-see-saw to trans-square planar, and from octahedral to square planar coordination geometry. These processes were studied in solution and in the solid state via(1)H NMR spectroscopy and single crystal X-ray diffraction.

Adaptive binding and selection of compressed 1,ω-diammonium-alkanes via molecular encapsulation in water

Guest molecules confined inside hollow molecular assemblies and thus protected from their environment can show unexpected structural behavior or special reactivity compared to their behavior in a bulk, unprotected environment. A special case is the coiling behavior of variable-length alkane chains in rigid hydrogen-bonded molecular cages. It has been found before that coiling may occur in such circumstances, but no experimental evidence concerning the exact conformation of the chains has yet been presented. We reveal in this study the self-assembly of a molecular cage in water and the crystalline state from three distinct components in which linear 1,ω-diammonium-alkanes chains are confined with different degrees of compression. The exact coiling behavior is determined from atomic resolution X-ray diffraction showing crenel-like conformations in the compressed state. Chemical selection can be obtained from mixtures of alkane chains via the encapsulation of kinetically stable conformations observed during the encapsulation of pure components. Moreover, it was found that uncompressed and compressed chains can be competitively trapped inside the capsule. These findings may provide insight in areas to a better understanding of biological processes, such as the fatty acid metabolism.