Dynamic Interactions in Synthetic Receptors: A Guest Exchange Saturation Transfer Study

The accumulated knowledge regarding molecular architectures is based on established, reliable, and accessible analytical tools that provide robust structural and functional information on assemblies. However, both the dynamicity and low population of noncovalently interacting moieties within studied molecular systems limit the efficiency and accuracy of traditional methods. Herein, the use of a saturation transfer-based NMR approach to study the dynamic binding characteristics of an anion to a series of synthetic receptors derived from bambusuril macrocycles is demonstrated. The exchange rates of BF₄⁻ are mediated by the side chains on the receptor (100 s⁻¹<k_ex<5000 s⁻¹), which play a critical role in receptor-anion binding dynamics. The signal amplification obtained with this approach allows for the identification of different types of intermolecular interactions between the receptor and the anion, something that could not have been detected by techniques hitherto used to study molecular assemblies. These findings, which are supported by a computational molecular dynamic study, demonstrate the uniqueness and added value of this NMR method.     

Detection of Explosives Using Field‐Effect Transistors

The gate surfaces of ion‐sensitive field‐effect transistor (ISFET) devices were functionalized with the π‐donor units, 6‐hydroxydopamine ( 1 ) or 4‐aminothiophenol ( 2 ). Concentration of trinitrotoluene, TNT, on the gate via π‐donor‐acceptor interactions yields charge‐transfer complexes that alter the gate potential. This enables the label‐free analysis of TNT with a detection limit corresponding to 1×10^?7 M.