Multivalency in the gas phase: H/D exchange reactions unravel the dynamic "rock 'n' roll" motion in dendrimer-dendrimer complexes

The aqueous supramolecular chemistry of crown ethers

This mini-review summarizes the seminal exploration of aqueous supramolecular chemistry of crown ether macrocycles. In history, most research of crown ethers were focusing on their supramolecular chemistry in organic phase or in gas phase. In sharp contrast, the recent research evidently reveal that crown ethers are very suitable for studying abroad range of the properties and applications of water interactions, from: high water-solubility, control of Hofmeister series, "structural water", and supramolecular adhesives. Key studies revealing more details about the properties of water and aqueous solutions are highlighted.

Elucidating dynamic behavior of synthetic supramolecular polymers in water by hydrogen/deuterium exchange mass spectrometry

A comprehensive understanding of the structure, self-assembly mechanism, and dynamics of one-dimensional supramolecular polymers in water is essential for their application as biomaterials. Although a plethora of techniques are available to study the first two properties, there is a paucity in possibilities to study dynamic exchange of monomers between supramolecular polymers in solution. We recently introduced hydrogen/deuterium exchange mass spectrometry (HDX-MS) to characterize the dynamic nature of synthetic supramolecular polymers with only a minimal perturbation of the chemical structure. To further expand the application of this powerful technique some essential experimental aspects have been reaffirmed and the technique has been applied to a diverse library of assemblies. HDX-MS is widely applicable if there are exchangeable hydrogen atoms protected from direct contact with the solvent and if the monomer concentration is sufficiently high to ensure the presence of supramolecular polymers during dilution. In addition, we demonstrate that the kinetic behavior as probed by HDX-MS is influenced by the internal order within the supramolecular polymers and by the self-assembly mechanism.

Morphology control in metallosupramolecular assemblies through solvent-induced steric demand

Controlling the supramolecular self-assembly of π-conjugated systems into defined morphologies is a prerequisite for the preparation of functional materials. In recent years, the development of sophisticated sample preparation protocols and modulation of various experimental conditions (solvent, concentration, temperature, etc.) have enabled precise control over aggregation pathways of different types of monomer units. A common method to achieve pathway control consists in the combination of two miscible solvents in defined proportions - a "poor" and "good" solvent. However, the role of solvents of opposed polarity in the self-assembly of a given building block still remains an open question. Herein, we unravel the effect of aggregation-inducing solvent systems of opposed polarity (aqueous vs. non-polar media) on the supramolecular assembly of a new bolaamphiphilic Pt(ii) complex. A number of experimental methods show a comparable molecular packing in both media driven by a synergy of solvophobic, aromatic and weak hydrogen-bonding interactions. However, morphological analysis of the respective aggregates in aqueous and non-polar media reveals a restricted aggregate growth in aqueous media into spherical nanoparticles and a non-restricted 2D-nanosheet formation in non-polar media. These findings are attributed to a considerably more efficient solvation and, in turn, increased steric demand of the hydrophilic chains in aqueous media than in nonpolar media, which can be explained by the entrapment of water molecules in the hydrophilic aggregate shell via hydrogen bonds. Our findings reveal that the different solvation of peripheral solubilizing groups in solvents of opposed polarity is an efficient method for morphology control in self-assembly.

Self-assembly behaviors of perylene- and naphthalene-crown macrocycle conjugates in aqueous medium

The synthesis of conjugates of perylene diimide (PDI) and naphthalene diimide (NDI) modified with two benzo-21-crown-7 ethers (B21C7) are herein described. Their self-assembly behavior in various solvents was investigated particularly in aqueous medium, due to the recently discovered hydrophilic properties of B21C7 crown macrocycle. An unexpected fluorescence quenching phenomenon was observed in the PDI-B21C7 macrocycle conjugate in chloroform. The detailed UV-vis absorption and fluorescence spectra of these PDI/NDI derivatives in different solvents as well as their morphologies were investigated.

Supramolecular Gel Based on Crown-Ether-Appended Dynamic Covalent Macrocycles

A new type of dynamic covalent macrocycle with self-promoted supramolecular gelation behavior is developed. Under oxidative conditions, the dithiol compound containing a diamide alkyl linker with an odd number (7) of carbon chain and an appended crown ether shows a remarkable gelation ability in acetonitrile, without any template molecules. Due to the existence of crown ethers and disulfide bonds, the obtained gel shows a multiple stimuli-responsiveness behavior. The mechanical properties and reversibility of the gel are investigated. Computational modeling suggests that the peripheral chain for diamide hydrogen bonding is responsible for the gelation process.

Installation, validation, and application examples of two instrumental setups for gas-phase HDX-MS analysis of peptides and proteins

Gas-phase hydrogen/deuterium exchange measured by mass spectrometry in a millisecond timeframe after ESI (gas-phase HDX-MS) is a fast and sensitive, yet unharnessed method to analyze the primary- and higher-order structure, intramolecular and intermolecular interactions, surface properties, and charge location of peptides and proteins. During a gas-phase HDX-MS experiment, heteroatom-bound non-amide hydrogens are made to exchange with deuterium during a millisecond timespan after electrospray ionization (ESI) by reaction with the highly basic reagent ND₃, enabling conformational analysis of protein states that are pertinent to the native solution-phase. Here, we describe two different instrumental approaches to enable gas-phase HDX-MS for analysis of peptides and proteins on high-resolution Q-TOF mass spectrometers. We include a description of the procedure and equipment required for successful installation as well as suggested procedures for testing, validation, and troubleshooting of a gas-phase HDX-MS setup. In the two described approaches, gas-phase HDX-MS are performed either immediately after ESI in the cone exit region by leading N₂-gas over a deuterated ND₃/D₂O solution, or by leading purified ND₃-gas into different traveling wave ion guides (TWIG) of the mass spectrometer. We envision that a detailed description of the two gas-phase HDX-MS setups and their practical implementation and validation can pave the way for gas-phase HDX-MS to become a more routinely used MS technique for structural analysis of peptides and proteins.

Reactivity of the Sterically Demanding Siloxanediol Mes2 Si(OH)(μ-O)Si(OH)Mes2 Towards Water and Ether Molecules

A series of isotopologues of the siloxanediol Mes₂ Si(OH)(μ-O)Si(OH)Mes₂ (3 a) (Mes=2,4,6-trimethylphenyl) were synthesized by reactions of the corresponding disiloxane precursors Mes₂ Si(μ-O)₂ SiMes₂ (2 a), Mes₂ Si(μ-¹⁷ O)₂ SiMes₂ (2 b) or Mes₂ Si(μ-¹⁸ O)₂ SiMes₂ (2 c) with an excess of H₂ O, H₂¹⁷ O or H₂¹⁸ O. NMR and IR signal assignments for the siloxanediols in benzene are supported by quantum-chemical calculations, which indicate small energy differences between trans and cis conformers, the latter of which exhibits an intramolecular hydrogen bond. ¹ H NMR as well as IR data suggest the presence of a mixture of both conformers in C₆ D₆ . Hydrogen-bonded adducts of Mes₂ Si(OH)(μ-O)Si(OH)Mes₂ with ethers such as diethylether, dimethoxyethane or dioxane were observed in the solid state, where they form polymeric chain-like structures. The latter appear to be stable only in the crystal. ¹⁷ O{¹ H} NMR and IR data in THF solution suggest an interaction of 3 a with at least one THF molecule, whereas diethylether appears not to interact. Water adducts form neither in solution nor in the solid state as indicated by NMR and ATR IR data. ¹⁷ O{¹ H} NMR and ESI-MS experiments illustrate the remarkably high stability of the siloxanediols towards water and show no evidence for intra- or intermolecular oxygen-exchange reactions. In marked contrast, a stepwise exchange of all three oxygen atoms-including the one in the Si-O-Si bridge-occurred in the gas phase, when [Mes₂ Si(¹⁸ OH)(μ-¹⁸ O)Si(¹⁸ O)Mes₂ ]^- was treated with H₂ O in the hexapole of an ESI FT-ICR mass spectrometer. The scrambling between the bridging and the other oxygen atoms likely proceeds through cyclic Si₂ O₂ intermediates.

Dynamic diversity of synthetic supramolecular polymers in water as revealed by hydrogen/deuterium exchange

Numerous self-assembling molecules have been synthesized aiming at mimicking both the structural and dynamic properties found in living systems. Here we show the application of hydrogen/deuterium exchange (HDX) mass spectrometry (MS) to unravel the nanoscale organization and the structural dynamics of synthetic supramolecular polymers in water. We select benzene-1,3,5-tricarboxamide (BTA) derivatives that self-assemble in H₂O to illustrate the strength of this technique for supramolecular polymers. The BTA structure has six exchangeable hydrogen atoms and we follow their exchange as a function of time after diluting the H₂O solution with a 100-fold excess of D₂O. The kinetic H/D exchange profiles reveal that these supramolecular polymers in water are dynamically diverse; a notion that has previously not been observed using other techniques. In addition, we report that small changes in the molecular structure can be used to control the dynamics of synthetic supramolecular polymers in water.

Detection of weak hydrogen bonding to fluoro and nitro groups in solution using H/D exchange

Hydrogen/deuterium (H/D) exchange can be a sensitive technique for measuring the strength of hydrogen bonding to neutral organic nitro and fluoro groups. The slower rates of reaction in comparison to suitable controls suggest that hydrogen bonding is present, albeit rather weak.

Gas-phase chemistry of molecular containers

The use of mass spectrometry for the investigation of supramolecular capsules and containers in solution and the gas-phase is reviewed.

Supramolecular reactivity in the gas phase: investigating the intrinsic properties of non-covalent complexes

The high vacuum inside a mass spectrometer offers unique conditions to broaden our view on the reactivity of supramolecules. Because dynamic exchange processes between complexes are efficiently suppressed, the intrinsic and intramolecular reactivity of the complexes of interest is observed. Besides this, the significantly higher strength of non-covalent interactions in the absence of competing solvent allows processes to occur that are unable to compete in solution. The present review highlights a series of examples illustrating different aspects of supramolecular gas-phase reactivity ranging from the dissociation and formation of covalent bonds in non-covalent complexes through the reactivity in the restricted inner phase of container molecules and step-by-step mechanistic studies of organocatalytic reaction cycles to cage contraction reactions, processes induced by electron capture, and finally dynamic molecular motion within non-covalent complexes as unravelled by hydrogen-deuterium exchange processes performed in the gas phase.