Chiral recognition and kinetic resolution of aromatic amines via supramolecular chiral nanocapsules in nonpolar solvents

Encapsulation Studies on closo-Dicarbadodecaborane Isomers in Neutral Tetrahedral Palladium(II) Cages

The encapsulation of icosahedral closo-dicarbadodecaborane (o-, m-, and p-carboranes, Cb) as guest molecules at the intrinsic cavities of the three isostructural tetrahedral cages [{Pd₃(NⁱPr)₃PO}₄(Cl-AN)₆] (1), [{Pd₃(NⁱPr)₃PO}₄(Br-AN)₆] (2), and [{Pd₃(NⁱPr)₃PO}₄(H-AN)₆] (3) was studied. The formation of definite host-guest assemblies was probed with mass spectrometry, IR, and NMR spectral analysis. 2D DOSY ¹H NMR of the Cb⊂Cage systems showed similar diffusion coefficient (D) values for the host and guest species, signifying the encapsulation of these guests inside the cage assemblies. The hydrodynamic radius (R_H) derived from the D values of the host and guest species further confirmed the encapsulation of the Cb isomers at the cage pockets. The single-molecule energy optimization of the host-guest assemblies indicated the preferential binding of o-Cb as a guest inside the cages (1-3). The stabilization of these Cb guests inside these cages was further attributed to various possible nonclassical C-H···X-type interactions.

Rapid Access to Chiral and Tripodal Cavitands from β-Pinene

We report Pd-catalyzed cyclotrimerization of (+)-α-bromoenone, obtained from monoterpene β-pinene, into an enantiopure cyclotrimer. This C3 symmetric compound has three bicyclo[3.1.1]heptane rings fused to its central benzene with each ring carrying a carbonyl group. The cyclotrimer undergoes diastereoselective threefold alkynylation with the lithium salts of five terminal alkynes (41-63 %, de=4-83 %). The addition enabled a rapid synthesis of a small library of novel chiral cavitands that, in shape, resemble a tripod stand. These molecular tripods include a tris-bicycloannelated benzene head attached to three alkyne legs twisted in one direction to form a nonpolar cavity with polar groups as feet. Tripods with methylpyridinium and methylisoquinolinium legs, respectively, form inclusion complexes with anti-inflammatory and chiral drugs (R)/(S)-ibuprofen and (R)/(S)-naproxen. The mode of binding shows drug molecules docked in the cavity of the host through ion-ion, cation-π, and C-H-π contacts that, in addition of desolvation, give rise to complexes having millimolar to micromolar stability in water. Our findings open the door to creating a myriad of enantiopure tripods with tunable functions that, in the future, might give novel chemosensors, catalysts or sequestering agents.

Enantioselective Recognition and Separation of C2 Symmetric Substances via Chiral Metal-Organic Frameworks

A promising route toward the enantioselective recognition and separation of racemic molecules is the design of chiral metal-organic frameworks (CMOFs) with high enantioselectivity and stability. Herein, we report porous CMOFs Δ- and Λ-RuEu-MOFs constructed from the D₃-symmetry helical chiral Ru(phen)₃-derived tricarboxylate ligand and Eu₂ units, which can be utilized as adsorbents for the enantioselective recognition and separation of 1,1'-bi-2-naphthol (BINOL) derivatives. Investigation of the circular dichroism enantiodifferentiation between the host and guest suggested that Δ- and Λ-RuEu-MOFs can be employed as chiral sensors to discriminate axial enantiomers due to their diastereomeric host-guest relationship. Density functional theory calculations reveal that chiral recognition is attributed to the distinguishing binding affinities stemming from N···H-O hydrogen bonds and π-π stacking between the host and guest. Moreover, the reticulate structure of Δ- and Λ-RuEu-MOFs can be readily recycled and reused for the successive enantioselective separation of BINOL up to 80% ee.

Control of Guest Inclusion and Chiral Recognition Ability of 6-O-Modified β-Cyclodextrins in Organic Solvents by Aromatic Substituents at the 2-O Position

The host-guest chemistry and applications of cyclodextrins in aqueous media is well established. However, a comprehensive study in organic solvents is lacking. Here, we report the design and synthesis of 6-O-tert-butyldimethylsilylated β-cyclodextrin (TBDMS-β-CD) bearing various aromatic substitutions at the 2-O position and their inclusion complex formation with aromatic guests in nonpolar organic solvents. Compared to the parent TBDMS-β-CD, these derivatives exhibit at least a 10-fold increase in inclusion ability toward pyrene through cooperative guest binding with the CD cavity and the aromatic substituents at the 2-O position. The type of the aromatic substituent largely affects the chiral recognition ability of TBDMS-β-CD toward 1-(1-naphthyl)ethylamine in cyclohexane. A TBDMS-β-CD derivative with a p-tolyl substituent has a remarkable chiral selectivity for the (S)-1-(1-naphthyl)ethylamine over the corresponding (R)-isomer (K_S /K_R =4.1±0.5), whereas a TBDMS-β-CD derivative with a 2-picolyl substituent shows the inverse chiral selectivity (K_R /K_S =8.7±0.6).

Effective Guest Inclusion by a 6-O-Modified β-Cyclodextrin Dimer in Organic Solvents

A 6-O-tert-butyldimethylsilylated β-cyclodextrin (TBDMS-β-CD) dimer, in which two TBDMS-β-CD rings are connected in a head-to-head fashion by a m-xylylene linker, effectively forms inclusion complexes with pyrene and naphthalene in nonpolar organic solvents such as cyclohexane and benzene. This TBDMS-β-CD dimer shows a higher inclusion ability toward these guests than a TBDMS-β-CD dimer bearing a p-xylylene linker due to the greater cooperation of the two TBDMS-β-CD rings for the guest inclusion. Unlike the corresponding monomer, the TBDMS-β-CD dimer bearing a m-xylylene linker is also a good host even in polar organic solvents such as tetrahydrofuran. High chiral recognition of aromatic amines and alcohol is realized by utilizing inclusion within the cavity of the TBDMS-β-CD dimer in cyclohexane. In particular, an extremely high binding selectivity for (S)-1-(1-naphthyl)ethylamine and (S)-1-(1-naphthyl)ethanol over the corresponding (R)-isomers is achieved. Moreover, by utilizing the high chiral recognition with the TBDMS-β-CD dimer in cyclohexane, a non-enzymatic kinetic resolution of racemic 1-(1-naphthyl)ethylamine via enantioselective N-benzoylation is attained with an enantiomer excess of up to 87 % and an s-factor of 15.

A comparative experimental and theoretical investigation of hydrogen-bond, halogen-bond and π–π interactions in the solid-state supramolecular assembly of 2- and 4-formylphenyl arylsulfonates

To explore the operational role of noncovalent interactions in supramolecular architectures with designed topologies, a series of solid-state structures of 2- and 4-formylphenyl 4-substituted benzenesulfonates was investigated. The compounds are 2-formylphenyl 4-methylbenzenesulfonate, C14H12O4S, 3a, 2-formylphenyl 4-chlorobenzenesulfonate, C13H9ClO4S, 3b, 2-formylphenyl 4-bromobenzenesulfonate, C13H9BrO4S, 3c, 4-formylphenyl 4-methylbenzenesulfonate, C14H12O4S, 4a, 4-formylphenyl 4-chlorobenzenesulfonate, 4b, C13H9ClO4S, and 4-formylphenyl 4-bromobenzenesulfonate, C13H9BrO4S, 4c. The title compounds were synthesized under basic conditions from salicylaldehyde/4-hydroxybenzaldehydes and various aryl sulfonyl chlorides. Remarkably, halogen-bonding interactions are found to be important to rationalize the solid-state crystal structures. In particular, the formation of O...X (X = Cl and Br) and type I X...X halogen-bonding interactions have been analyzed by means of density functional theory (DFT) calculations and characterized using Bader's theory of `atoms in molecules' and molecular electrostatic potential (MEP) surfaces, confirming the relevance and stabilizing nature of these interactions. They have been compared to antiparallel π-stacking interactions that are formed between the arylsulfonates.

Investigation of the complexation between cyclodextrins and medetomidine enantiomers by capillary electrophoresis, NMR spectroscopy and molecular modeling

The migration order of the enantiomers of medetomidine in the presence of cyclodextrins studied by capillary electrophoresis in phosphate buffer, pH 2.5, depended on the cavity size and the substitution pattern of the cyclodextrins. Opposite migration order was observed in the presence of β-cyclodextrin (β-CD) and γ-cyclodextrin (γ-CD) as well as randomly sulfated β-CD (S-β-CD) and heptakis(6-O-sulfo)-β-CD (HS-β-CD). This could be rationalized by the fact that dexmedetomidine formed more stable complexes with β-CD and S-β-CD, while levomedetomidine interacted stronger with γ-CD and HS-β-CD. The structure of the complexes was derived from rotating frame nuclear Overhauser (ROESY) experiments for β-CD, γ-CD and HS-β-CD. In the case of the native CDs, the phenyl ring of medetomidine entered the cavity through the wider secondary rim of the CDs, whereas the protonated imidazole ring was positioned inside the CD cavity interacting with the sulfate groups of HS-β-CD. Furthermore, molecular dynamics calculations also suggested opposite affinities of the medetomidine enantiomers toward β-CD and γ-CD.

Development of Dipicolylamine-Modified Cyclodextrins for the Design of Selective Guest-Responsive Receptors for ATP

The construction of supramolecular recognition systems based on specific host–guest interactions has been studied in order to design selective chemical sensors. In this study, guest-responsive receptors for ATP have been designed with cyclodextrins (CyDs) as a basic prototype of the turn-on type fluorescent indicator. We synthesized dipicolylamine (DPA)-modified CyD–Cu²⁺ complexes (Cu·1α, Cu·1β, and Cu·1γ), and evaluated their recognition capabilities toward phosphoric acid derivatives in water. The UV-Vis absorption and fluorescence spectra revealed that Cu·1β selectively recognized ATP over other organic and inorganic phosphates, and that β-CyD had the most suitable cavity size for complexation with ATP. The 1D and 2D NMR analyses suggested that the ATP recognition was based on the host–guest interaction between the adenine moiety of ATP and the CyD cavity, as well as the recognition of phosphoric moieties by the Cu²⁺–DPA complex site. The specific interactions between the CyD cavity and the nucleobases enabled us to distinguish ATP from other nucleoside triphosphates, such as guanosine triphosphate (GTP), uridine triphosphate (UTP), and cytidine triphosphate (CTP). This study clarified the basic mechanisms of molecular recognition by modified CyDs, and suggested the potential for further application of CyDs in the design of highly selective supramolecular recognition systems for certain molecular targets in water.

Structural effects of ditopic azoprobe–cyclodextrin complexes on the selectivity of guest-induced supramolecular chirality

Guest-induced supramolecular chirality: the guest ion selectivity was dramatically altered by a slight change in the spacer length of (15C5-Azo-n-dpa)₂–γ-CyD complexes in water.

Switching between Phosphorescence and Fluorescence Controlled by Chiral Self-Assembly

Helical self-assembly plays a unique role in regulating the localized excitations of π functional systems, which can also bring highly multi-scale orders, and show a special effect to tune the energy of electronics, vibration, and rotation of molecules. Due to controllable and dynamic property of chiral self-assembly, highly ordered and helical assemblies can be obtained to exhibit amplification effect and fascinating photophysical properties in photoluminescence. However, an effective control of singlet-triplet emissive switching in a unimolecular platform remains a great challenge. Recently, switchable singlet-triplet emission induced by helical self-assembly in a unimolecular platform has been developed. By taking advantage of the helical self-assembly driven by multiple intermolecular hydrogen bonding and strong π-π stacking interactions, reversible switching between fluorescence and phosphorescence could be efficiently achieved both in N,N-dimethylformamide/H2O solution and the solid state. The results will inspire the design of other intelligent luminescent materials through chiral self-assembly and be valuable for interdisciplinary development of supramolecular self-assembly and related materials science.

Homochiral D4-symmetric metal-organic cages from stereogenic Ru(II) metalloligands for effective enantioseparation of atropisomeric molecules

Absolute chiral environments are rare in regular polyhedral and prismatic architectures, but are achievable from self-assembly of metal–organic cages/containers (MOCs), which endow us with a promising ability to imitate natural organization systems to accomplish stereochemical recognition, catalysis and separation. Here we report a general assembly approach to homochiral MOCs with robust chemical viability suitable for various practical applications. A stepwise process for assembly of enantiopure ΔΔΔΔΔΔΔΔ- and ΛΛΛΛΛΛΛΛ-Pd₆(RuL₃)₈ MOCs is accomplished by pre-resolution of the Δ/Λ-Ru-metalloligand precursors. The obtained Pd–Ru bimetallic MOCs feature in large D₄-symmetric chiral space imposed by the predetermined Ru(II)-octahedral stereoconfigurations, which are substitutionally inert, stable, water-soluble and are capable of encapsulating a dozen guests per cage. Chiral resolution tests reveal diverse host–guest stereoselectivity towards different chiral molecules, which demonstrate enantioseparation ability for atropisomeric compounds with C₂ symmetry. NMR studies indicate a distinctive resolution process depending on guest exchange dynamics, which is differentiable between host–guest diastereomers.

Homochiral molecular capsules offer potential applications in chiral separation and stereospecific catalysis. Here, by pre-resolution of Δ/Λ-metalloligand precursors, the authors are able to assemble enantiopure supramolecular cages capable of stereoselective host-guest behaviour.

Chiral Metallo-Supramolecular Complex Directed Enantioselective Self-Assembly of β-Sheet Breaker Peptide for Amyloid Inhibition

Chiral recognition plays an important role for biomacromolecules involved self-assembly and further affects their biological functions. Herein, it is demonstrated that two chiral metal complexes can enantioselectively bind with Aβ15-20, leading to the formation of different self-assembled nanostructures. With the ability of both metal complexes and Aβ15-20 to inhibit Aβ1-40 aggregation, the NiM@P hybrid particles can act as bifunctional Aβ inhibitors.

A Cyclodextrin-Based Photoresponsive Molecular Gate that Functions Independently of Either Solvent or Potentially Competitive Guests

The photoinduced interconversion between cinnamido-substituted cyclodextrins constitutes a gating switch through which the substituent moves to open or block access to the cyclodextrin cavity. Most unusually for a cyclodextrin-based device, the operation of this gate is solvent-independent and unaffected by potentially competitive guests. It occurs in MeOH and DMSO, as well as in water. This contrasts with other cyclodextrin inclusion phenomena that are usually driven by hydrophobic effects and limited to aqueous media.

l-Amino acid derived pyridinium-based chiral compounds and their efficacy in chiral recognition of lactate

A series ofl-amino acid derived pyridinium-based chiral compounds have been designed and synthesized. Among them, somel-valine derivatives show enantioselective recognition ofd-lactate in fluorescence.

Evaluation and determination of the cyclofructans-amino acid complex binding pattern by electrospray ionization mass spectrometry

The noncovalent complex interactions between cyclofructans, a new class of cyclic oligosaccharide hosts, and various amino acids have been characterized by means of electrospray ionization mass spectrometry and nuclear magnetic resonance. The 1 : 1 stoichiometry of cyclofructans and amino acid complexes was confirmed by their mass-to-charge ratio in positive mode. Cyclofructans (CFs)-amino acid complexes and cyclodextrin-amino acid complexes exhibited distinctive different fragment behaviors in collision-induced dissociation experiments. Coupled with the results of (1) H NMR and nuclear overhauser effect spectroscopy, cyclofructan-amino acid complexes were deduced to be rim complexes via formation hydrogen bondin and ion-dipole forces. The interaction pattern could be controlled by changing the pH condition. In neutral solution, amino acids are located on the positive side of CFs, although moved to the negative side pocket constructed by 3-OH oxygen of furanose ring and the crown ether oxygen in acid condition. In addition, theory calculation for geometry optimization of Trp and CFs was performed, which was in good agreement with the experimental results.

Cyclodextrin polymers as highly effective adsorbents for removal and recovery of polychlorobiphenyl (PCB) contaminants in insulating oil

A total of 179 countries (parties) ratified the Stockholm Convention on persistent organic pollutants (POPs) and agreed to destroy polychlorobiphenyls (PCBs) and develop a sound management plan by 2028. Currently, still 3 million tons of PCB-contaminated oil and equipment need to be managed under the Stockholm Convention. Thus, the development of a facile and environmentally benign method to treat large amounts of oil stockpiles contaminated with PCBs is a crucial subject. Herein, we report that cyclodextrin (CD) polymers, which are easily prepared by cross-linking the renewable cyclic oligosaccharide γ-cyclodextrin (γ-CD) with dibasic acid dichlorides, are a new selective and powerful adsorbent to remove PCB contaminants in oil. When PCB (100 ppm)-contaminated oil was passed through a column packed with the terephthaloyl-cross-linked γ-CD polymer (TP-γ-CD polymer) at 80-110 °C, the PCB contaminants were completely removed from the oil. Additionally, methyl esterification of the free carboxylic groups of the TP-γ-CD polymer enabled the complete recovery of the PCBs adsorbed on the polymer (with >99.9% recovery efficiency) by simply washing with acetone. The methyl-esterified TP-γ-CD polymer could be recycled at least 10 times for PCB adsorption without any loss in the adsorption capability. These results revealed that the γ-CD polymers can function as highly effective and powerful adsorbents for the removal and recovery of PCBs from PCB-contaminated oil and, thus, significantly contribute to the protection of the global environment.

Probing the inner space of salt-bridged calix[5]arene capsules

A combined DOSY and XRD study indicates that a carboxylcalix[5]arene receptor is able to encapsulate α,ω-diamines of appropriate length by means of a proton-transfer-mediated recognition process followed by salt-bridge-assisted bis-endo-complexation.

Synthesis of bis-cellobiose and bis-glucose derivatives of azacrown macrocycles as hosts in complexes with acetylsalicylic acid and 4-acetamidophenol

Two new C2 symmetric bis-cellobiose and bis-glucose azacrown derivatives were prepared according to the one-step procedure using azacrown ethers and azidosaccharides. Their complexes with aspirin and paracetamol were studied with the use of proton NMR spectroscopy. It was found that these pseudocryptands bind aspirin and paracetamol but each one in a different manner.

Enantioselective recognition at mesoporous chiral metal surfaces

Chirality is widespread in natural systems, and artificial reproduction of chiral recognition is a major scientific challenge, especially owing to various potential applications ranging from catalysis to sensing and separation science. In this context, molecular imprinting is a well-known approach for generating materials with enantioselective properties, and it has been successfully employed using polymers. However, it is particularly difficult to synthesize chiral metal matrices by this method. Here we report the fabrication of a chirally imprinted mesoporous metal, obtained by the electrochemical reduction of platinum salts in the presence of a liquid crystal phase and chiral template molecules. The porous platinum retains a chiral character after removal of the template molecules. A matrix obtained in this way exhibits a large active surface area due to its mesoporosity, and also shows a significant discrimination between two enantiomers, when they are probed using such materials as electrodes.

Halogen–halogen interactions and halogen bonding in thiacalixarene systems

5,11,17,23-tetraiodo-25,26,27,28-tetrapropoxythiacalix[4]arene exhibited I⋯I interactions which are ca. 2% shorter than the sum of their respective van der Waals atomic radii. 5,11,17,23-tetraiodo-25,26,27,28-tetrabutoxythiacalix[4]arene were identified to have S⋯I interactions that are ca. 4.5% shorter than the sum of their respective van der Waals atomic radii. We have elucidated both interactions by computational approaches.