Controllable macrocyclic supramolecular assemblies in aqueous solution

A series of macrocycles, including crown ethers, cyclodextrins, calixarenes, pillararenes and cucurbiturils, are well known to be able to associate various organic/inorganic/biological guest molecules and ions in their well-defined cyclic cavities to form stable host-guest complexes and supramolecular systems through the cooperative contributions of various non-covalent interactions. When one or more functional groups are attached to the cavity of macrocycles or guest molecules, enhanced and/or controlled host-guest associations may take place, leading to not only improved host-guest binding abilities but also fascinating properties. In this review, some representative contributions in the construction of controllable macrocyclic supramolecular assemblies in aqueous solution are presented with an emphasis on the stimuli-responsive control manner and wide applications of this property.     

Pillararene-based supramolecular systems for theranostics and bioapplications

As an emerging type of important macrocycles for supramolecular chemistry, pillararenes and their derivatives have been widely studied and applied in numerous fields, which intensively promotes the development of chemistry, materials science and biology.Pillararene-based theranostic systems are of special interest in the biological and medical areas as they have shown very promising results. Owing to easy preparation, reliable guest affinity, good biocompatibility and stability, pillararenes are frequently used to construct functional biomaterials. On one hand, pillararenes can either be used individually or form diversiform self-assemblies such as micelles, nanoparticles and vesicles to increase water solubility and biocompatibility of drugs.On the other hand, it is promising to modify solid materials like framework materials, silica nanoparticles and graphene oxides with pillararene derivatives to enhance their functions and controllability. In this review, we summarize recent endeavors of pillararene-based supramolecular systems with theranostics and other biological applications comprising drug delivery/chemotherapy, photodynamic/photothermal therapy, antimicrobials, bioimaging, etc. By introducing several typical examples, the design principles, preparation strategies, identifications and bio-applications of these pillararene-based supramolecular systems are described. Future challenges and directions of this field are also outlined.     

Water‐Binding‐Mediated Gelation/Crystallization and Thermosensitive Superchirality

Determination of molecular structural parameters of hydrophobic cholesterol–naphthalimide conjugates for water binding capabilities as well as their moisture‐sensitive supramolecular self‐assembly were revealed. Water binding was a key factor in leading trace water‐induced crystallization against gelation in apolar solvent. Ordered water molecules entrapped in self‐assembly arrays revealed by crystal structures behave as hydrogen‐bonding linkers to facilitate three‐dimensional growth into crystals rather than one‐dimensional gel nanofibers. Water binding was also reflected on the supramolecular chirality inversion of vesicle self‐assembly in aqueous media via heating‐induced dehydration. Structural parameters that favor water binding were evaluated in detail, which could help rationally design organic building units for advancing soft materials, crystal engineering, and chiral recognition.     

Calculation of the absolute thermodynamic properties of association of host-guest systems from the intermolecular potential of mean force

The authors report calculations of the intermolecular potential of mean force (PMF) in the case of the host-guest interaction. The host-guest system is defined by a water soluble calixarene and a cation. With an organic cation such as the tetramethylammonium cation, the calixarene forms an insertion complex, whereas with the Lanthane cation, the supramolecular assembly is an outer-sphere complex. The authors apply a modified free energy perturbation method and the force constraint technique to establish the PMF profiles as a function of the separation distance between the host and guest. They use the PMF profile for the calculation of the absolute thermodynamic properties of association that they compare to the experimental values previously determined. They finish by giving some structural features of the insertion and outer-sphere complexes at the Gibbs free energy minimum.     

Cucurbituril Based Luminescent Materials in Aqueous Media and Solid State

Cucurbit[n]urils, the pumpkin shaped macrocyclic host molecules possessing a hydrophobic cavity and two identical carbonyl portals, have drawn a lot of attention in recent years due to their high-affinity yet dynamic molecular recognition properties in water. The reversible and stimuli-responsive nature of their host-guest complexes imparts “smart” features leading to materials with intriguing optical, mechanical and morphological properties. In this review, we focus on the design of cucurbituril based luminescent materials in aqueous media as well in solid or film state. The design principles of fluorescent complexes, small assemblies as well as supramolecular polymers along with their stimuli-responsive properties and applications in diverse areas such as optoelectronic devices, light harvesting, anti-counterfeiting and information technology, cell imaging, etc are highlighted with selected examples from recent literature. We also discuss examples of room temperature phosphorescent materials derived from purely organic luminogens in the presence of cucurbiturils.     

Co‐assembly of Polyoxometalates and Zwitterionic Amphiphiles into Supramolecular Hydrogels: From Crystalline Fibrillar to Amorphous Micellar Networks

Gelation mechanism is of utmost importance to the rational design of supramolecular hydrogelators. Although both kinetic and thermodynamic controlled self‐assembly processes have been widely studied in hydrogels, the formation relationship between crystalline and amorphous gel networks still remains ambiguous. Herein, a gelation transformation from a kinetic to a thermodynamic process was achieved by balancing the rigidity and flexibility of the inorganic–organic co‐assemblies. By using polyoxometalates and zwitterionic amphiphiles, the transition morphologies between crystalline and amorphous hydrogel networks were evidenced for the first time, as ordered wormlike micelles. Given the versatile applications of hydrogels in biological systems and materials science, these findings may highlight the potential of inorganic–organic binary supramolecular hydrogelators and fill in the blank between kinetic and thermodynamic controlled gelation processes.     

Evidence for a Bulky Unit of a Pillar[5]arene Flipping in the Solid State

It is well known that pillar[5]arenes have two most stable conformations (pS and pR) in their crystal structures. Because of the intramolecular H‐bonding interactions, substituents, temperature, solvent and so on, the rotational behaviors of the phenolic units on pillararenes are also common. This paper showed some other kinds of conformations in the functionalized pillar[5]arenes and gave evidence for a bulky unit (1,4‐methoxycarbonylmethoxybenzene unit) flipping in the solid state. The presence of hydrogen bonding facilitated the intermolecular self‐assembly in terms of energy‐minimized packing in the crystals. Thus, the main driving force for the flipping of this bulky unit might be both the intramolecular hydrogen bonding between the phenolic units on pillararenes and quadrupolar hydrogen bonding between the host and water. This paper helps us to have a better understanding on the conformations of pillar[5]arenes.     

基于杯芳烃主体的分子自组装研究进展

分子自组装是超分子化学最重要的研究内容之一. 杯芳烃作为继冠醚、环糊精之后的第三代人工合成受体分子已在分子自组装研究方面取得了重要进展并显示了广泛的应用前景. 主要综述杯芳烃衍生物通过氢键、金属诱导配位、π-π作用、疏水作用等非共价键弱相互作用力在溶液状态、固态和界面的分子自组装方面的研究进展.     

Toward mimicking viral geometry with metal-organic systems

Icosahedral and cuboctahedral arrangements of calixarenes, a nanometer-scale, spheroidal assembly of 12 calixarene molecules, can be manipulated in a highly controlled fashion. Previously, such assemblies were observed to favor placement of the calixarenes at the vertexes of an icosahedron. A supramolecular constraint is employed in order to enforce molecular alignment and produce a cuboctahedral arrangement. The internal volume of the cuboctahedron is approximately 30% greater than that of the icosahedron. Furthermore, in stark contrast to that of the icosahedral Platonic solid, the shell of the cuboctahedral Archimedean solid is porous.     

Energetics of small molecule and water complexation in hydrophobic calixarene cavities

Calixarenes grafted on silica are energetically uniform hosts that bind aromatic guests with 1:1 stoichiometry, as shown by binding energies that depend upon the calixarene upper rim composition but not on their grafted surface density (0.02-0.23 nm(-2)). These materials are unique in maintaining a hydrophilic silica surface, as probed by H2O physisorption measurements, while possessing a high density of hydrophobic binding sites that are orthogonal to the silica surface below them. The covalently enforced cone-shaped cavities and complete accessibility of these rigidly grafted calixarenes allow the first unambiguous measurements of the thermodynamics of guest interaction with the same calixarene cavities in aqueous solution and vapor phase. Similar to adsorption into nonpolar protein cavities, adsorption into these hydrophobic cavities from aqueous solution is enthalpy-driven, which is in contrast to entropy-driven adsorption into water-soluble hydrophobic hosts such as beta cyclodextrin. The adsorption thermodynamics of several substituted aromatics from vapor and liquid are compared by (i) describing guest chemical potentials relative to pure guest, which removes differences among guests because of aqueous solvation and van der Waals contacts in the pure condensed phase, and (ii) passivating residual guest binding sites on exposed silica, titrated by water during adsorption from aqueous solution, using inorganic salts before vapor adsorption. Adsorption isotherms depend only upon the saturation vapor pressure of each guest, indicating that guest binding from aqueous or vapor media is controlled by van der Waals contacts with hydrophobic calixarene cavities acting as covalently assembled condensation nuclei, without apparent contributions from CH-pi or other directional interactions. These data also provide the first direct quantification of free energies for interactions of water with the calixarene cavity interior. The calixarene-water interface is stabilized by approximately 20 kJ/mol relative to the water-vapor interface, indicating that water significantly competes with the aromatic guests for adsorption at these ostensibly hydrophobic cavities. This result is useful for understanding models of water interactions with other concave hydrophobic surfaces, including those commonly observed within proteins.     

DNA-inspired hierarchical polymer design: electrostatics and hydrogen bonding in concert

Nucleic acids and proteins, two of nature's biopolymers, assemble into complex structures to achieve desired biological functions and inspire the design of synthetic macromolecules containing a wide variety of noncovalent interactions including electrostatics and hydrogen bonding. Researchers have incorporated DNA nucleobases into a wide variety of synthetic monomers/polymers achieving stimuli-responsive materials, supramolecular assemblies, and well-controlled macromolecules. Recently, scientists utilized both electrostatics and complementary hydrogen bonding to orthogonally functionalize a polymer backbone through supramolecular assembly. Diverse macromolecules with noncovalent interactions will create materials with properties necessary for biomedical applications.     

原位自组装形成二氧化硅/十六烷基三甲基溴化铵纳米网络粒子

提出了以具有纳米尺寸孔径及孔壁厚度的MCM 48作为无机基体、以无机 有机原位自组装的方法形成纳米网络粒子 .研究结果表明 ,在一定实验条件下 ,有机相可进入无机相的三维孔道自组装形成立方有序结构的纳米网络复合粒子 .通过研究纳米网络粒子在极性介质和非极性介质中的分散发现 ,有机相的存在有利于纳米网络粒子的分散     

Hierarchically Structured Porous Films of Silica Hollow Spheres via Layer‐by‐Layer Assembly and Their Superhydrophilic and Antifogging Properties

Raspberrylike organic/inorganic composite spheres are prepared by stepwise electrostatic assembly of polyelectrolytes and silica nanoparticles onto monodisperse polystyrene spheres. Hierarchically structured porous films of silica hollow spheres are fabricated from these composite spheres by layer‐by‐layer assembly with polyelectrolytes followed by calcination. The morphologies of the raspberrylike organic/inorganic composite spheres and the derived hierarchically structured porous films are observed by scanning and transmission electron microscopy. The surface properties of these films are investigated by measuring their water contact angles, water‐spreading speed, and antifogging properties. The results show that such hierarchically structured porous films of silica hollow spheres have unique superhydrophilic and antifogging properties. Finally, the formation mechanism of these nanostructures and property–structure relationships are discussed in detail on the basis of experimental observations.     

Comparison of pillar[5]arene and calix[4]arene anion receptor ability in aqueous media

Abstract

Recognition ability of both cationic pillar[5]arene and calix[4]arene has been studied in aqueous media. Anion complexation can be evaluated from their ability to complex their counterions as well as an added external organic anion. DOSY NMR experiments and fluorescence quenching show that pillararenes have a larger ability for including their own counterions than calixarenes irrespective of the anion (tetrafluoroborate or chloride or bromide) and the structure of the cationic moiety (trimethylammonium or methylimidazolium). Counterion complexation shows a picture where four to five positive charges of the pillar[5]arene are neutralised, meanwhile only one positive charge of the calixarene is neutralised for a 1 mM solution of the macrocycle. Irrespective of the smaller net positive charge in the pillar[5]arene, its binding ability for organic anions (toluenesulfonate or hydroxybenzoate) is larger than for calix[4]arene allowing a better accommodation of the guest in its cavity. The larger separation between the cationic groups of the receptor and its electron-rich aromatic region improves the anion recognition ability for pillar[5]arene.     

Chiral Aggregates of Triphenylamine‐Based Dyes for Depleting the Production of Hydrogen Peroxide in the Photochemical Water‐Splitting Process

Recent studies on water‐splitting photoelectrochemical cells (PECs) have demonstrated the intriguing possibility of controlling the spin state in this chemical reaction to form H₂ and O₂ by exploiting the chirality of organic π‐conjugated supramolecular polymers. Although this fascinating phenomenon has been disclosed, the chiral supramolecular materials reported thus far are not optimized for acting as efficient photosensitizer for dye‐sensitized PECs. In this work we report on the design, synthesis, and characterization of chiral supramolecular aggregates based on C₃‐symmetric triphenylamine‐based dyes that are able to both absorb visible light and control the spin state of the process. Variable temperature‐dependent spectroscopic measurements reveal the assembly process of the dyes and confirm the formation of chiral aggregates, both in solution as well as on solid supports. Photoelectrochemical measurements on TiO₂‐based anodes validate the advantage of using chiral supramolecular aggregates as photosensitizer displaying higher photocurrent compared to achiral analogues. Moreover, fluorimetric tests for the quantification of the hydrogen peroxide produced, confirm the possibility of controlling the spin of the reaction exerting spin‐selection with chiral supramolecular polymers. These results represent a further step towards the next‐generation of organic‐based water‐splitting solar cells.     

Long-Range Chiral Induction by a Fully Noncovalent Approach in Supramolecular Porphyrin–Calixarene Assemblies

The hierarchical assembly, in aqueous solution, of a new multi-metalloporphyrin/calixarene aggregate has been accomplished. In this supramolecular system transfer of chirality, from the outermost components to the central porphyrin reporter, takes place as a result of favorable and fully noncovalent long-range electronic communication.     

Hybrid host-guest complexes: directing the supramolecular structure through secondary host-guest interactions

A set of four hybrid host-guest complexes based on the inorganic crown ether analogue [H12W36O120]12- ({W36}) have been isolated and characterised. The cluster anion features a central rigid binding site made up of six terminal oxygen ligands and this motif allows the selective binding of a range of alkali and alkali-earth-metal cations. Here, the binding site was utilised to functionalise the metal oxide-based cavity by complexing a range of protonated primary amines within the recognition site. As a result, a set of four hybrid organic-inorganic host-guest complexes were obtained whereby the interactions are highly directed specifically within this cavity. The guest cations in these molecular assemblies range from the aromatic 2-phenethylamine (1) and 4-phenylbutylamine (2) to the bifunctional aromatic p-xylylene diamine (3) and the aliphatic, bifunctional 1,6-diaminohexane (4). Compounds 1-4 were structurally characterised by single-crystal X-ray diffraction, elemental analysis, flame atomic absorption spectroscopy, FTIR and bond valence sum calculations. This comparative study focuses on the supramolecular effects of the amine guest cations and investigates their structure-directing effects on the framework arrangement arising by locking the protonated amines within the cavity of the {W36} cluster. It was shown that parts of the organic guest cation protrude from the central binding cavity and the nature of this protruding organic "tail" directs the solid-state arrangement of compounds 1-4. Guest cations with a hydrophobic phenyl tail result in an antiparallel assembly of {W36} complexes arranged in a series of pillared layers. As a consequence, no direct supramolecular interactions between {W36} clusters are observed. In contrast, bifunctional guest cations with a secondary amino binding site act as molecular connectors and directly link two cluster units thus locking the supramolecular assembly in a tilted arrangement. This direct linking of {W36} anions results in the formation of an infinite supramolecular scaffold.     

Supramolecular Assembly and Hybridization in Giant Nanomembranes

We demonstrated recently that large nanomembranes became available from inorganic, organic/inorganic and totally organic precursors. Spin coating of mixtures of acrylate monomers and zirconium butoxide (or tetraethoxysilane), when combined with simultaneous radical polymerization and sol-gel reaction, gave 10–30 nm thick, free-standing nanomembranes composed of metal oxides and crosslinked acrylates as interpenetrating network. This approach was extended to thermosetting resins (epoxy, melamine and phthalic resins), to fabricate robust, free-standing nanomembranes. Mechanical properties of the nanomembranes as measured by the bulge test and by a compression method were comparable to those of the corresponding macroscopic resins. The hybrid nanomembrane was subsequently prepared by supramolecular assembly of the nanofilm with surfactants and lipids. These amphiphiles produced adsorbed monolayers on the nanomembrane and some of the assemblies were stably kept in water.     

Assembly behavior of inclusion complexes of beta-cyclodextrin with 4-hydroxyazobenzene and 4-aminoazobenzene

To further reveal the factors governing the supramolecular assembly of beta-cyclodextrin (beta-CD) inclusion complexes, two aggregates (1 and 2) were prepared from the inclusion complexes of beta-CD with 4-hydroxyazobenzene and 4-aminoazobenzene, respectively, and their binding behavior were investigated by means of X-ray analysis, UV-vis, NMR, and circular dichroism spectra in both solution and the solid state. The obtained results indicated that the beta-CD/4-hydroxyazobenzene complex 1 could form head-to-head dimers (triclinic system, space group P1) in the solid state, which were further self-assembled to a linear supramolecular architecture by the intra- and interdimer hydrogen bond interactions as well as the intradimer pi-pi interactions. However, when the included guest 4-hydroxyazobenzene was switched to a 4-aminoazobenzene, the resultant beta-CD/4-aminoazobenzene complex 2 (monoclinic system, space group P2(1)) could be self-assembled to a wave-type supramolecular aggregate under similar conditions. Furthermore, the combination of crystallographic and spectral investigations jointly revealed the inclusion complexation geometry of beta-CD with 4-hydroxyazobenzene and 4-aminoazobenzene in both solution and the solid state, which demonstrated that the disparity of substituents in the azobenzenes played an important role in the inclusion complexation and molecular assembly, affecting not only the structural features of aggregates but also the binding abilities of azobenzenes with beta-CD.     

Chitosan biotinylation and electrodeposition for selective protein assembly

An alternative route to protein assembly at surfaces based on using the unique capabilities of biological materials for the spatially selective assembly of proteins is described. Specifically, the stimuli-responsive properties of aminopolysaccharide chitosan are combined with the molecular-recognition capabilities of biotin-streptavidin binding. Biotinylated chitosan retains its stimuli-responsive properties and is capable of electrodepositing at specific electrode addresses. Once deposited, it is capable of binding streptavidin, which can mediate the subsequent assembly of biotinylated proteins. Spatially selective protein assembly using biotinylated Protein A and fluorescently-labeled antibodies is demonstrated.