Aromatic oligoamide macrocycles have been developed in which the constrained backbone enforces hydrogen-bond donors to orient towards the macrocycle centre, forming a highly electropositive cavity. These macrocycles show strong binding for various anions and can partition into biomembranes to facilitate selective transmembrane anion transport.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Access options
Access Nature and 54 other Nature Portfolio journals
Get Nature+, our best-value online-access subscription
$29.99 / 30 days
cancel any time
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 12 print issues and online access
$259.00 per year
only $21.58 per issue
Buy this article
- Purchase on SpringerLink
- Instant access to full article PDF
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
References
Steed, J. W. First- and second-sphere coordination chemistry of alkali metal crown ether complexes. Coord. Chem. Rev. 215, 171–221 (2001). A review article that presents the coordination chemistry of crown ethers with alkali metal ions.
Wu, X., Gilchrist, A. M., Philip, A. & Gale, P. A. Prospects and challenges in anion recognition and transport. Chem 6, 1296–1309 (2020). This perspective article discusses the prospects and challenges of anion binding and transport.
Pflugrath, J. W. & Quiocho, F. A. Sulphate sequestered in the sulphate-binding protein of Salmonella typhimurium is bound solely by hydrogen bonds. Nature 314, 257–260 (1985). This paper reports the strong binding of the sulfate ion in water by a sulfate-binding protein involving multiple hydrogen bonds.
Cao, R. K., Rossdeutcher, R. B., Wu, X. X. & Gong, B. Oligo(5-amino-N-acylanthranilic acids): amide bond formation without coupling reagent and folding upon binding anions. Org. Lett. 22, 7496–7501 (2020). This paper reports a series of anion-binding oligoamides and the amide-coupling method used herein.
Kunz, W., Nostro, P. L. & Ninham, B. W. The present state of affairs with Hofmeister effects. Curr. Opin. Colloid Interface Sci. 9, 1–18 (2004). A review article that discusses systems exhibiting the Hofmeister and anti-Hofmeister effects.
Additional information
Publisher’s note Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
This is a summary of: Cao, R. et al. Aromatic pentaamide macrocycles bind anions with high affinity for transport across biomembranes. Nat. Chem. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41557-023-01315-w (2023).
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Rigid macrocycles with multiple hydrogen-bond donors for effective anion binding and transport. Nat. Chem. 15, 1501–1502 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41557-023-01316-9
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41557-023-01316-9
