Applications of calixarene nano-baskets in pharmacology

Extraction of s-block metals by nano-baskets of calix[4]crown-3

Three kinds of nano-baskets including 1,2-alternate and cone conformers of di-ionizable p-tert-butylcalix[4]arene-1,2-crown-3 and the cone conformer of p-tert-butylcalix[4]arene-1,2-thiacrown-3 were synthesized and the competitive solvent extractions of alkali and alkaline earth metal cations were studied. The novelty of this study is including three binding units of the calixarene’s bowl, the crown ether’s ring, and electron-donor ionizable moieties in a unique scaffold, in which their sizes were selected based upon their complexation ability to show equal binding tendency towards the cations. The objective of this work is to assess the extraction efficiency, selectivity, and pH1/2 of such complexes. The results of solvent extraction experiments indicated that these compounds were effective extractants of alkali and alkaline earth metal cations. Their selectivities were greatly influenced by the acidity of the solution and the conformations of the calixcrown. One conformer was highly selective to Na+ and the other to Ba2+ in acidic and basic solutions, respectively.