From the analysis of CSD structural data, some chemical prerequisites can be identified as necessary for the formation of cyclamers, at least in the solid state: molecules forming cyclamers are always characterized by the presence of both H-bond donor and acceptor groups. Because the cyclamer formation usually competes with the formation of other more common structural motifs, such as dimers or infinite chains, appropriate substitutions (for instance, bulky substituents) can sometimes prevent the formation of chains, making cyclic aggregations more probable. Moreover, cavities with large dimension, up to 10-15 A ° , can be observed provided that they are filled by substituent groups or small guest molecules. The identification of the complementary functional groups able to self-assemble to make up discrete homomolecular or host-guest systems leads to the design of new supramolecular structures for fruitful applications in chemistry, material chemistry, crystal engineering, and biological chemistry. Because many cyclamers exist also in solution, understanding how some molecules self-assemble by mutual recognition using noncovalent bonds could be crucial to ‘‘emulate natural systems, for example, in the development of synthetic enzymes, efficient gene therapy, or drug delivering systems.
CYCLAMERS AND RELATED SOLID SELF-ASSEMBLED HOSTS
BERTOLASI, Valerio;FERRETTI, Valeria
2005
Abstract
From the analysis of CSD structural data, some chemical prerequisites can be identified as necessary for the formation of cyclamers, at least in the solid state: molecules forming cyclamers are always characterized by the presence of both H-bond donor and acceptor groups. Because the cyclamer formation usually competes with the formation of other more common structural motifs, such as dimers or infinite chains, appropriate substitutions (for instance, bulky substituents) can sometimes prevent the formation of chains, making cyclic aggregations more probable. Moreover, cavities with large dimension, up to 10-15 A ° , can be observed provided that they are filled by substituent groups or small guest molecules. The identification of the complementary functional groups able to self-assemble to make up discrete homomolecular or host-guest systems leads to the design of new supramolecular structures for fruitful applications in chemistry, material chemistry, crystal engineering, and biological chemistry. Because many cyclamers exist also in solution, understanding how some molecules self-assemble by mutual recognition using noncovalent bonds could be crucial to ‘‘emulate natural systems, for example, in the development of synthetic enzymes, efficient gene therapy, or drug delivering systems.I documenti in SFERA sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
