Kinetic versus thermodynamic control during the formation of [2]rotaxanes by a dynamic template-directed clipping process

A template-directed dynamic clipping procedure has generated a library of nine [2]rotaxanes that have been formed from three dialkylammonium salts-acting as the dumbbell-shaped components-and three dynamic, imino bond-containing, [24]crown-8-like macrocycles-acting as the ring-shaped components-which are themselves assembled from three dialdehydes and one diamine. The rates of formation of these [2]rotaxanes differ dramatically, from minutes to days depending on the choice of dialkylammonium ion and dialdehyde, as do their thermodynamic stabilities. Generally, [2]rotaxanes formed by using 2,6-diformylpyridine as the dialdehyde component, or bis(3,5-bis(trifluoromethyl)benzyl)ammonium hexafluorophosphate as the dumbbell-shaped component, assembled the most rapidly. Those rotaxanes containing this particular electron-deficient dumbbell-shaped unit, or 2,5-diformylfuran units in the macroring, were the most stable thermodynamically. The relative thermodynamic stabilities of all nine of the [2]rotaxanes were determined by competition experiments that were monitored by (1)H NMR spectroscopy.     

Shape‐Persistent Organic Cage Compounds by Dynamic Covalent Bond Formation

One area of supramolecular chemistry involves the synthesis of discrete three‐dimensional molecules or supramolecular aggregates through the coordination of metals. This field also concerns the chemistry of supramolecular cage compounds constructed through the use of such coordination bonds. To date, there exists a broad variety of supramolecular cage compounds; however, analogous organic cage compounds formed with only covalent bonds are relatively rare. Recent progress in this field can be attributed to important advances, not least the application of dynamic covalent chemistry. This concept makes it possible to start from readily available precursors, and in general allows the synthesis of cage compounds in fewer steps and usually higher yields.     

The dynamic chemistry of molecular borromean rings and Solomon knots

The dynamic solution equilibria between molecular Borromean rings (BRs) and Solomon knots (SKs), assembled from transition metal‐templated macrocycles, consisting of exo‐bidentate bipyridyl and endo‐tridentate diiminopyridyl ligands, have been examined with respect to the choice of the metal template and reaction conditions employed in the synthesis of the metalated BRs, otherwise known as Borromeates. Three new Borromeates, their syntheses templated by Cu^II, Co^II, and Mn^II, have been characterized extensively (two by X‐ray crystallography) to the extent that the metal centers in the assemblies have been shown to be distanced sufficiently from each other not to communicate. The solid‐state structure of the Co^II–Borromeate reveals that six MeOH molecules, arranged in a [O? H???O] hydrogen bonded, chair‐like conformation, are located within its oxophilic central cavity. When a mixture of Cu^II and Zn^II is used as the source of templation, there exists a dynamic equilibrium, in MeOH at room temperature, between a mixed‐metal BR and a SK, from which the latter has been fractionally crystallized. By employing appropriate synthetic protocols with Zn^II or Cd^II as the template, significant amounts of SKs are formed alongside BRs. Modified crystallization conditions resulted in the isolation of both an all‐zinc BR and an all‐zinc SK, crystals of which can be separated manually, leading to the full characterization of the all‐zinc SK by ¹H NMR spectroscopy and X‐ray crystallography. This doubly interlocked [2]catenate has been identified retrospectively in recorded spectra, where it was attributed previously to a Borromeate with a Zn^II cation coordinated to the oxophilic interior walls of the ensemble. Interestingly, these Zn^II‐templated assemblies do not interconvert in MeOH at room temperature, indicating the significant influence of both the metal template and solvent on the solution equilibria. It would also appear that d¹⁰ metal ions favor SK formation—no evidence of Cu^II‐, Co^II‐, or Mn^II‐templated SKs has been found, yet a 1:0.9 ratio of BR:SK has been identified by ¹H NMR spectroscopy when Cd^II is used as the template.     

The influence of constitutional isomerism and change on molecular recognition processes

Three constitutionally isomeric bis(naphthylmethyl)ammonium ions, in which the two naphthyl groups are substituted 1) both at their 1-positions, 2) one at its 1-position and the other at its 2-position, and 3) both at their 2-positions, have been investigated separately in solution for their propensities to undergo spontaneous self-assembly with three different [24]crown-8 derivatives, namely, pyrido[24]crown-8 (P24C8), dipyrido[24]crown-8 (DP24C8) and dibenzo[24]crown-8 (DB24C8), in turn to form [2]pseudorotaxanes. The strengths of the 1:1 complexes depend on the composition of the secondary dialkylammonium ions and on the nature of the crown ether hosts; generally, as far as the guest cation is concerned, the 1/1- and 2/2-isomers form stronger complexes, as indicated by stability constant measurements, than the 1/2-isomer and, as far as the crown ethers are concerned, the more flexible P24C8 is a much more efficient host than either DP24C8 or DB24C8. The rates of formation of the [2]pseudorotaxanes are fast (i.e., taking no more than a few minutes) in solution with the exception of one case, that is, in which the crown ether host is DB24C8 and the guest cation is the 1/1-isomer, when it can take upwards of one month for the complexation-decomplexation equilibrium to be established at room temperature. In all cases, the equilibrium between complexed and uncomplexed species is slow on the NMR timescale, allowing the determination of stability constants to be made readily using the single-point method. X-ray crystallography and molecular modeling have been used to gain insight into ground and transition state interactions, respectively, in some of the [2]pseudorotaxanes. The relative stabilities of the three [2]pseudorotaxanes formed by each guest cation in the presence of the three crown ether hosts were also evaluated in solution by competition experiments that were monitored by (1)H NMR spectroscopy. By and large the results of the competition experiments could be predicted on the basis of the derived stability constants for the individual [2]pseudorotaxanes.     

Helicate, macrocycle, or catenate: Dynamic topological control over subcomponent self-assembly

The aqueous reaction between equimolar amounts of 2-(2-(2-aminoethoxy)ethoxy)ethanamine, 1,10-phenanthroline-2,9-dialdehyde and copper(I) produced a dimeric helical macrocycle in quantitative yield. This ring could also be generated by the addition of two equivalents of the diamine to an acyclic helicate containing four mono-imine residues: A transimination occurred, the chelate effect being implicated as a driving force. In the case of a helicate containing mono-imines derived from anilines, the substitution of diamine for monoamine was reversible upon lowering the pH. The aliphatic diamine was protonated at a higher pH than the arylamine, which left the arylamine free for incorporation instead of the alkyl diamine. This reaction thus opened the possibility of switching between closed macrocyclic and open helicate topologies by changing the pH. An additional closed topology became accessible through the use of a diamine that incorporates two rigid phenylene spacer groups between a flexible chain and the imine-forming nitrogen atoms. The resulting catenate consists of a pair of topologically interlinked macrocycles. The presence of the phenylene groups appeared to dictate the topology of the final product, making the formation of a single macrocycle energetically disfavoured.     

An iminoboronate construction set for subcomponent self-assembly

Recently we have demonstrated a series of systems in which complex structures were created from simple amine and aldehyde subcomponents by copper(I)-templated imine bond formation. We describe herein the extension of this "subcomponent self-assembly" concept to the generation of structures based upon the iminoboronate ester motif. Equimolar amounts of diol, amine, and 2-formylphenylboronic acid reacted by reversible B-O and C=N bond formation to generate iminoboronate esters, as has recently been reported by James et al. (Org. Lett. 2006, 8, 609-612). The extent of ester formation was shown to depend upon a number of factors. The exploration of these factors allowed rules and predictions to be formulated governing the self-assembly process. These rules allowed the construction of more complex structures containing multiple boron atoms, including a trigonal cage containing six boron centers, as well as pointing the way to the construction of yet more intricate architectures. The lability of the B-O and C=N bonds also allowed different diol and amine subcomponents to be substituted within these structures. Selection rules were also determined for these substitution reactions, allowing the products to be predicted based upon the electronic properties of the diols and diamines employed. These results thus demonstrate the generality of the subcomponent self-assembly methodology through its application to a new dynamic covalent system.     

Aqueous Anion Receptors through Reduction of Subcomponent Self‐Assembled Structures

To prepare new functional covalent architectures that are difficult to synthesize using conventional organic methods, we developed a strategy that employs metal–organic assemblies as precursors, which are then reduced and demetalated. The host–guest chemistry of the larger receptor thus prepared was studied using NMR spectroscopy and fluorescence experiments. This host was observed to strongly bind aromatic polyanions in water, including the fluorescent dye molecule pyranine with nanomolar affinity, thus allowing for the design of an indicator‐displacement assay.     

Topological polymer chemistry by dynamic selection from electrostatic polymer self-assembly

A collection of recent developments in topological polymer chemistry is presented. First, topological isomerism occurring on randomly coiled, flexible polymer molecules having cyclic and linear structures is discussed. Second, an electrostatic self-assembly and covalent fixation strategy has been developed for the synthesis of polymeric topological isomers. These isomers have double cyclic, manacle-, and theta-shaped constructions, and are prepared by using either linear or star telechelic polymer precursors having moderately strained cyclic ammonium salt groups, which carry multifunctional carboxylate counteranions. A technique of reversed-phase chromatography (RPC) is demonstrated as an effective means to separate polymers with different topologies, especially polymeric topological isomers. A further extension of topological polymer chemistry has been observed by dynamic selection from electrostatic polymer self-assembly to enable the effective formation of tadpole-shaped, cyclic-linear hybrid topologies.     

Supramolecular cobalt cages and coordination polymers templated by anion guests: self-assembly, structures, and magnetic properties

We report the anion-templated syntheses of a variety of supramolecular assemblies of Co(II). Remarkably in the presence of a weakly coordinating ion such as BF(4) (-), a discrete three-dimensional cage [BF(4) subset(BF(4))(2)Co(2)(L(1))(4)][BF(4)] (2) is formed with three coordinated BF(4) (-) ions, a rare example in supramolecular chemistry (L(1)=di(benzimidazole)-1,4-phenylene). Switching to stronger coordinating ions, such as NO(3) (-) or Cl(-), a one-dimensional coordination polymer [[Co(L(1))(NO(3))(2)](n)] (3) and a metallomacrocycle [Co(2)(L(1))(2)(Cl)(4)] (5) were formed, respectively. These results illustrate the powerful effect of the anion-templating chemistry. Finally the magnetic properties of these assemblies 1 b, 2, 3, and 5 are presented and discussed.     

Self-assembled multivalency: dynamic ligand arrays for high-affinity binding

Multivalency is a powerful strategy for achieving high-affinity molecular recognition in biological systems. Recently, attention has begun to focus on using self-assembly rather than covalent scaffold synthesis to organize multiple ligands. This approach has a number of advantages, including ease of synthesis/assembly, tunability of nanostructure morphology and ligands, potential to incorporate multiple active units, and the responsive nature of self-assembly. We suggest that self-assembled multivalency is a strategy of fundamental importance in the design of synthetic nanosystems to intervene in biological pathways and has potential applications in nanomedicine.