Synthesis of a water-soluble bis(m-phenylene)-32-crown-10-based cryptand and its pH-responsive binding to a paraquat derivative

摘要

By introducing a third arm with two anionic carboxylate groups, a water-soluble bis(m-phenylene)-32-crown-10-based cryptand was synthesized. Its pH-controlled host-guest complexation with a paraquat derivative in water was studied. Supramolecular chemistry in water has gained considerable attention in recent years on account of the fact that simple building blocks can self-assemble into highly ordered and complex architectures which are of great importance for mimicking the microstructures in biological systems. In the studies of supra-molecular chemistry in water, macrocyclic hosts, such as cyclo-dextrins, calixarenes and cucurbiturils, have been widely used because of their good water solubility and high binding ability to guests.