Rigidity versus amphiphilicity in transmembrane nanopore formation by cholate-based macrocycles

Amphiphilic macrocycles consisting of cholates and l-tryptophan were prepared by the copper-catalysed alkyne–azide cycloaddition. The macrocycles helped glucose permeate lipid bilayer membranes. The macrocycle with two cholates was significantly more active in the glucose transport than the one with three cholates. Inclusion of 30–50% cholesterol in the bilayer accelerated the glucose transport monotonously. The unusual cholesterol effect was explained by the hydrophobically driven pore formation, in which the associative interactions of the water molecules inside the macrocycles prompted the macrocycles to stack over one another to avoid unfavourable water–lipid hydrocarbon contact. Fluorescence quenching by water- and oil-soluble quenchers provided additional evidence for the better penetration of the dicholate macrocycle into the bilayers, consistent with the stacking model. Rigidity in the macrocycle structure was hypothesised to be the main reason for the higher transport activity and deeper membrane-penetration of the dicholate macrocycle compared with those of the tricholate.