Influence of Host's Substitution on the Orientation of the Guest: Pseudo-rotaxanes of Charged Cyclodextrins with Methyl Orange in Solution

Methyl Orange (MO), an azo-dye molecule with an inherent dipole moment, has been used as a probe to explore the influence of anionic or cationic substituents of cyclodextrins (CDs) on the mode of insertion to form pseudorotaxanes, using NMR spectroscopy. MO is oriented in a single mode inside the βCD cavity, with the dimethylamino group localized at the secondary side. This orientation is completely reversed when MO enters the anionic sodium heptakis6-deoxy-6-(3-thiopropionate)]-βCD (βpsp) cavity, whereas inside the cationic heptakis(6-deoxy-6-amino)-βCD hydrochloride, MO flips once more, to adopt the same orientation as in βCD. In the latter case the water solubility of MO is significantly lowered. The disposition of the guest in βCD and in each βCD derivative in a single mode was attributed principally to anti-parallel dipole-dipole stabilization. In the wider γCD, the availability of more cavity space leads to 1:2 and 2:2 host/guest stoichiometries and the effect of dipoles is of secondary significance. In the anionic sodium octakis6-deoxy-6-(3-thiopropionate)]-γCD, MO is positioned as in βpsp, but a 1:2 adduct is also detected. Finally, MO does not dissolve in octakis(6-deoxy-6-amino)-γCD hydrochloride solution.