Synthesis of macrocycle isomers via metathesis cyclization and their self-assembly from aqueous solutions

Novel triangular macrocycle isomers were synthesized through metathesis cyclization with high yield (77%). HPLC and MALDI-TOF showed that the purity of the macrocycles was higher than 99%, while (1)H NMR clearly showed that these macrocycles contain C2 and C3 isomers in a ratio of 1:3. AFM and TEM showed that they spontaneously formed vesicular structures in a chloroform/water system with an average diameter of 460 nm, which was corroborated by DLS results.