Strained aromatic oligoamide macrocycles as new molecular clips

Can one join both ends of a helix? A helical aromatic oligoamide was macrocyclized into a saddle-shaped bifunctional clip molecule that self-assembles into discrete circular dodecamers in the solid state and shows great potential for binding aromatic acid guests in solution. The cyclization step requires that the helix is only partly denatured in the reaction medium.