Author: S. Maryamdokht Taimoory

Sharing the salt bowl: counterion identity drives N-alkyl resorcinarene affinity for pyrophosphate in water

N-Alkyl ammonium resorcinarene chloride receptors, NARX4, have been shown to act as high-sensitivity detectors of pyrophosphate (PPi), a biomarker of disease, in aqueous media through the chloride-to-PPi exchange [NAR(Cl)4 to NARPPi]. The nature of the anion of the macrocyclic NARX4 (X = Cl−, Br−, triflate OTf−) receptor greatly influences the PPi-affinity in aqueous media. The binding affinity for [NAR (Cl)4] is 3.61 × 105 M−1, while the NAR (Br)4 and NAR (OTf)4 show stronger binding of 5.30 × 105 M−1, and 6.10 × 105 M−1, respectively. The effects of upper rim ammonium cation, –N+H2R substituents (R = 3-hydroxypropyl, cyclohexyl, benzyl, or napththalen-1-ylmethyl), of the macrocyclic resor…

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Host–guest complexes of conformationally flexible C-hexyl-2-bromoresorcinarene and aromatic N-oxides: solid-state, solution and computational studies

Host–guest complexes of C-hexyl-2-bromoresorcinarene (BrC6) with twelve potential aromatic N-oxide guests were studied using single crystal X-ray diffraction analysis and 1H NMR spectroscopy. In the solid state, of the nine obtained X-ray crystal structures, eight were consistent with the formation of BrC6-N-oxide endo complexes. The lone exception was from the association between 4-phenylpyridine N-oxide and BrC6, in that case the host forms a self-inclusion complex. BrC6, as opposed to more rigid previously studied C-ethyl-2-bromoresorcinarene and C-propyl-2-bromoresorcinarene, undergoes remarkable cavity conformational changes to host different N-oxide guests through C–H···π(host) intera…

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High-affinity and selective detection of pyrophosphate in water by a resorcinarene salt receptor

N-Alkyl ammonium resorcinarenes selectively bind pyrophosphate in pure water with an exceptionally high binding constant of up to 1.60 × 107 M–1, three orders of magnitude higher than ATP.

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Bringing a Molecular Plus One : Synergistic Binding Creates Guest-Mediated Three-Component Complexes

C-Ethyl-2-Methylresorcinarene (A), pyridine (B), and a set of ten carboxylic acids (Cn) associate to form A·B·Cn ternary assemblies with 1:1:1 stoichiometry, representing a useful class of ternary systems where the guest mediates complex formation between the host and a third component. Although individually weak in solution, the combined strength of the multiple non-covalent interactions organizes the complexes even in a highly hydrogen-bond competing methanol solution as explored by both experimental and computational methods. The interactions be-tween A·B and Cn are dependent on the pKa values of carboxylic acids. The weak interactions between A and C further reinforce the interactions b…

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Bringing a Molecular Plus One: Synergistic Binding Creates Guest-Mediated Three-Component Complexes

Cethyl-2-methylresorcinarene (A), pyridine (B), and a set of 10 carboxylic acids (Cn) associate to form A·B·Cn ternary assemblies with 1:1:1 stoichiometry, representing a useful class of ternary systems where the guest mediates complex formation between the host and a third component. Although individually weak in solution, the combined strength of the multiple noncovalent interactions organizes the complexes even in a highly hydrogen-bond competing methanol solution, as explored by both experimental and computational methods. The interactions between A·B and Cn are dependent on the pKa values of carboxylic acids. The weak interactions between A and C further reinforce the interactions betw…

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