The SMART team on the cover of Angewandte Chemie by publishing the first foldarotaxane supramolecular machine operating through orchestrated induced movements. A great example of reciprocity.
The SMART team, in collaboration with teams from Bordeaux (Dr. Yann Ferrand) and Munich (Prof. Ivan Huc), reports the synthesis of a highly sophisticated interlocked supramolecular machine called a foldarotaxane – i.e., a macrocycle and a helix surrounding a molecular axis – in which interdependent and induced movements of the macrocycle and foldamer along the axis can be finely controlled.
Under kinetic conditions, the pH change triggers the molecular machinery via the displacement of the macrocycle along the molecular axis, thereby inducing the sliding of the helix to a portion of the axle for which it has less affinity.
Under thermodynamic conditions, at higher concentration, the dissociation-reassociation of the helix around the molecular axis of the rotaxane is favored, leading to the formation of a new supramolecular isomer in which the relative positions of the helix and macrocycle are reversed. In this state, the helix can act as a supramolecular barrier by sequestering the macrocycle away from its most favorable position.
Unlike what is commonly encountered in nature, examples of induced and interdependent movements in synthetic molecular machines remain extremely rare.
The article titled “Cascading Macrocycle and Helix Motions in a Foldarotaxane Molecular Shuttle” and its cover can be discovered in the journal Angewandte Chemie. Congratulations to Dr. Maxime Gauthier for his 10th publication and 6th cover with the team.
R. Hess, M. Brenet, H. Rajaonarivelo, M. Gauthier, V. Koehler, P. Waelès, I. Huc, Y. Ferrand and F. Coutrot, Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2024, 63, e202413977
Link to the article : https://doi.org/10.1002/anie.202413977
Link to the cover : https://doi.org/10.1002/anie.202419040
SMART team – Supramolecular Machines and ARchitectures Team, Institut des Biomolécules Max Mousseron : www.glycorotaxane.com
