The cavity elongation effect. Calorimetric studies of the complexes of long-chain carboxylic acids with methyl-α-cyclodextrin in aqueous solutions

The formation of complexes between methyl-α-cyclodextrin (MαCD) and monocarboxylic acids from C₅ to C₁₂ or cycloalkanols has been studied calorimetrically at 298 K in aqueous phosphate buffer, pH 11.3. The forces involved in the association process are discussed according to the signs and values of the thermodynamic parameters obtained: association enthalpy, constant, Gibbs energy and entropy. Methyl-α-cyclodextrin forms 1:1 inclusion complexes with monocarboxylic acids, characterized by a monotonous increase in the values of enthalpies and association constants at increasing alkyl chain length. Association is characterized by negative enthalpies and by positive entropies: that determines large association constants. That behaviour is compared to the unusual trend in the values of the association constants shown by the parent α-cyclodextrin interacting␣with the same monocarboxylic acids. The model proposed to rationalize the present data provides a cavity elongation effect. Namely, because of the presence of the methyl groups on the outside, the cavity behaves as it were deeper than that of the parent cyclodextrin. The association with cycloalkanols—cyclohexanol, cycloheptanol, cyclooctanol and 1-cylohexyl-ethanol—is characterized by lower entropies, as determined by the␣enhanced negative contribution originating from the␣tighter fit of the guest into the cavity.