A Remarkably Complex Supramolecular Hydrogen-Bonded Decameric Capsule Formed from an Enantiopure C2-Symmetric Monomer by Solvent-Responsive Aggregation.

The formation of an unprecedented decameric capsule in carbon disulfide, held together by the combination of double and triple hydrogen bonds between isocytosine units embedded in an enantiomerically pure bicyclic framework is reported. The aggregation occurs via symmetry breaking of the enantiopure intrinsically C2-symmetric monomer brought about by solvent, induced tautomerization of the hydrogen-bonding unit. We show that the topology of the aggregate is responsive to the solvent in which the assembly takes place. In this study we demonstrate that in carbon disulfide the chiral decameric cavity aggregate consisting of three forms of the same monomer, differing in their hydrogen bonding to each other is selectively formed, representing a tube-like structure capped with two C2-symmetric monomers. The large cylindrical cavity produced selectively accommodates one partially solvated C60 molecule, and molecular dynamic simulations revealed the special role of the solvent in the inclusion mechanism. The strategy described herein represents the first step toward the creation of a new class of hydrogen-bonded tubular objects from only one small symmetric building block by solvent-responsive aggregation.

Homoconjugation vs. exciton coupling in chiral α,ß-unsaturated bicyclo[3.3.1]nonane dinitrile and carboxylic acids.

The chiroptical properties of enantiomerically pure bicyclo[3.3.1]nona-2,6-diene-2,6-dicarbonitrile and related acids were studied by circular dichroism spectroscopy and theoretical computations. A consideration of the molecular structure of the synthesized difunctional compounds revealed that chromophores are predisposed to transannular through-space interaction due to a favourable conformation of the bicyclic skeleton and a rather small interchromophoric distance. Evidence for non-exciton-type coupling between the two acrylonitrile and acrylate moieties in 3 and 4, respectively, was obtained by chiroptical spectroscopy and DFT calculations.

Composition- and size-controlled cyclic self-assembly by solvent- and C60-responsive self-sorting.

Synthesis, solvent-, and guest-controlled self-assembly, and self-sorting of new hydrogen-bonded chiral cavity receptors are reported. The design of the cavity is based on the cyclic self-aggregation of monomers containing the 4H-bonding ureidopyrimidinone motif fused with the bicylo[3.3.1]nonane framework. Selective formation of kinetically inert cyclic tetramers is observed in chloroform, while in toluene an equilibrium between tetrameric and pentameric forms exists. The high affinity of the tetrameric aggregates toward C60 and C70 is observed in aromatic solvents. The host-guest interaction of unconventional π-acidic supramolecular receptors for fullerenes is turned off and on by changing the solvent, whereas the selection of size and the very composition of the cavity aggregate is controlled by either the change of solvent or the addition of fullerene guest, making our systems a new type of self-sorting device.

Lipophilic 1,4-naphthoquinone derivatives: synthesis and redox properties in solution and entrapped in the aqueous cubic liquid-crystalline phase of monoolein.

1,4-naphthoquinone derivatives (NQD) containing lipophilic alkyl chains, i.e. 2-((Z)-heptadec-8-enyl)-3-methyl 1,4-naphthoquinone (QMe), 2-((Z)-heptadec-8-enyl)-3-hydroxy-1,4-naphthoquinone (QOH) and (Z)-octadec-9-enyl 1,4-naphthoquinone-2-carboxylate (QE) were synthesized. The redox behavior of these NQD was studied in ethanol and entrapped in the reversed bicontinuous cubic phase of space group type Pn3m (Q(224)) of aqueous monoolein. In ethanol, cyclic voltammetry curves exhibit two pairs of oxidation-reduction peaks arising from the redox processes controlled by adsorption and molecular diffusion. The NQD molecules are also electrochemically active in the cubic phase, indicating the participation in the 2e(-), 2H(+)-redox cycle at pH<9. Therefore, it was concluded that the head group of the entrapped NQD reaches the lipid bilayer interface of cubic phase during the process.

Deprotonation of beta-cyclodextrin in alkaline solutions.

Variable pH (13)C NMR and (1)H NMR spectroscopic studies of the beta-cyclodextrin (beta-CD) in alkaline aqueous solutions revealed that beta-CD does not deprotonate at pH<12.0. Further increase in solution pH results in the deprotonation of OH-groups adjacent to C-2 and C-3 carbon atoms of beta-CD glucopyranose units, whereas the deprotonation of OH-groups adjacent to C-6 carbon atoms is expressed less markedly. The pK(a) values for beta-CD OH-groups adjacent to C-2 and C-3 carbon atoms are rather close, pK(a1,2) being 13.5+/-0.2 (22.5 degrees C).

rac-4,8-Divinyl-bicyclo-[3.3.1]nonane-2,6-dione.

The title compound, C(13)H(16)O(2), is a chiral bicyclic structure composed of two fused cyclo-hexa-ne rings possessing both boat and chair conformations. The mol-ecules are packed in enantio-pure columns which are pairwise linked forming an overall racemic solid; within the column pairs the packing is governed by weak dipole-dipole inter-actions stemming from stacked carbonyl functionalities (CO(centroid)-CO(centroid) distance = 3.290 Å).

A study of planar chromophores in dichromophoric molecules by circular dichroism spectroscopy.

A synthesis of a series of enantiomerically pure polycyclic structures derived from (+)-(1S,5S)-bicyclo[3.3.1]nonane-2,6-dione was accomplished. Molecules containing single or two similar or different chromophores were obtained. Chiroptical properties of the synthesized chiral structures 2-5, and 7 having carbonyl, 1,2-methylenedioxybenzene, and indole chromophores were studied. The sign of the cotton effect was related to sector rules and the orientation of the planes containing chromophores in dichromophoric molecules possessing 1,2-methylenedioxybenzene and carbonyl or indole chromophores. Interaction of the chromophores in dichromophoric molecules was examined by CD spectroscopy; however, no direct evidence was obtained.

A study of cysteamine ionization in solution by Raman spectroscopy and theoretical modeling.

Different cysteamine (H2N-CH2-CH2-SH) ionization forms have been studied by polarized Raman spectroscopy in solutions prepared with H2O and D2O and by DFT calculations at the B3LYP/6-31++G(d,p) level. To account for solvation effects, we employed the integral equation formalism polarizable continuum model (IEFPCM) option and explicit water molecules. Calculated relative energies and Raman spectra revealed that gauche rotamers around the C-C bond are the most stable conformers in solution. The experimental pKa values and Raman spectra of various ionization forms were best predicted by using a model with three explicit water molecules and the IEFPCM option. In general, the use of IEFPCM tends to lower the calculated frequencies for a few bands, but in some cases (S-H stretching mode) this effect is expressed very strongly. Potential energy distribution (PED) analysis of gauche conformers of various cysteamine ionization forms provided the possibility of discriminating spectroscopically methylene groups adjacent to sulfur, (CH2)S, and nitrogen, (CH2)N, sites. In general, stretching and scissoring modes as well as wagging and twisting vibrations of the (CH2)N group were found to be at higher frequencies. The influence of ionization of SH and NH2 groups on the vibrational spectrum is discussed, and Raman markers for further amine group ionization studies are suggested.

Interactions of Cyclic AMP and Its Dibutyryl Analogue with a Lipid Layer in the Aqueous Mixtures of Monoolein Preparation and Dioleoyl Phosphatidylcholine as Probed by X-Ray Diffraction and Raman Spectroscopy.

Interactions of adenosine 3':5'-cyclicmonophosphate (cAMP) andN(6),2'-O-dibutyryladenosine3':5'-cyclic monophosphate (dbcAMP) with alipid layer composed of monoolein-basedpreparation and dioleoylphosphatidylcholine (DOPC) wereinvestigated by small-angle X-raydiffraction (SAXD) and Raman spectroscopy.The reversed hexagonal (H(II))MO/DOPC/H(2)O phase of 65:15:20 wt.%composition was selected as a referencesystem. SAXD revealed that entrapment (atthe expense of water) of 3 wt.% cAMP intothe reference system did not change thepolymorphic form and structural parametersof the phase. The same content of dbcAMPinduced the transition from the H(II)phase to the reversed bicontinuous cubicphase of space group Ia3d. Thistransition is explained by the increase oflipid head-group area due to thepenetration of the acylated adenine groupof dbcAMP into the polar/apolar region oflipid layer. The conclusion is supported byRaman spectroscopy, showing thedisruption/weakening of hydrogen bonding inthe MO/DOPC-based matrix at the N1- andN3-sites of the dbcAMP adenine ring. Asdistinct from dbcAMP, cAMP remains mostlyin the water channels of the H(II)phase, although the phosphate residue ofnucleotide interacts with the quaternaryammonium group of DOPC. Both nucleotidesincrease the population of gaucheisomers in the DOPC choline group.

Interaction of beta-cyclodextrin with cadmium(II) ions.

Reduction of Cd(II) on a dropping mercury electrode was used to study interaction of beta-cyclodextrin with Cd(II) ions. It was found that Cd(II) forms Cdbeta-CD(OH)(2)(2-) hydroxy-complex with the anion of beta-cyclodextrin in alkaline solutions (pH>11), the logarithm of stability constant being 10.4+/-0.1 (20 degrees C; I=1.0). The calculated value of the diffusion coefficient equal to 1.0x10(-6)cm(2)/s shows a large size Cd(II) complex species formation in alkaline solutions containing beta-CD.

Towards redox active liquid crystalline phases of lipids: a monoolein/water system with entrapped derivatives of ferrocene.

The phase and electrochemical behavior of the aqueous mixtures of monoolein (MO) and synthetic ferrocene (Fc) derivatives containing long alkyl chains-(Z)-octadec-9-enoylferrocene (1), (Z)-octadecen-9-ylferrocene (2), and ferrocenylmethyl (Z)-octadec-9-enoate (3)-were studied. At low hydration, the reversed micelles (L(2) phase) and cubic Q(230) phase of MO can accommodate relatively high amounts (>6 wt.%) of the Fc-derivative 2, whereas at high hydration, the pseudoternary cubic phase Q(224) is destabilized even at about 2 wt.% of this Fc. Increasing the Fc-derivative content induces L(alpha)-->L(2) and L(alpha)-->reversed bicontinuous cubic phase (Q(II))-->H(II) transitions depending upon hydration. A rough study of the MO system containing compounds 1 and 3 indicates very similar phase behavior to that of the MO/2/H(2)O system. Compound 2 apparently has no effect on the lipid monolayer thickness in the pseudoternary L(alpha), H(II) and Q(II) liquid crystalline phases of MO. Within a 3D-structure of the Q(224) phase, derivatives 1-3 exhibit electrochemical activity on the gold electrode. The one-electron redox conversion processes are electrochemically quasi-reversible and controlled by diffusion. The values of apparent diffusion coefficient (D(app)) and heterogeneous electron-transfer rate constant (k(s)) of Fcs are significantly lower in the cubic phase matrix when compared to the acetonitrile solution. By contrast, the MO H(II) phase with entrapped Fc-derivatives does not exhibit electrochemical activity on the electrode surface. It is suggested that the diffusional anisotropy and/or localized aggregation of compounds 1-3 within a 2D-structure of the H(II) phase account(s) for the latter observation.