Amide naphthotubes: Biomimetic macrocycles for selective molecular recognition

Abstract

Selective molecular recognition in water is routine for bioreceptors, but remains challenging for synthetic hosts. This is principally because noncovalent interactions are usually less efficient in aqueous environments. By mimicking the cavity feature of bioreceptors, Prof. Wei Jiang proposed and clarified the concept of “endo-functionalized cavity”. Through situating polar binding sites into a deep hydrophobic cavity, we designed and synthesized several macrocyclic hosts, among which amide naphthotubes are the most representative. The hosts can selectively recognize various polar molecules including organic micropollutants, drug molecules, and chiral molecules in water by employing the hydrophobic effect and shielded hydrogen bonding. In addition, these biomimetic hosts have been applied in spectroscopic analysis, adsorptive separation and self-assembly. In this review, we provide an overview of recent advances on amide naphthotubes with special emphasis on the efforts of Jiang's group. We are convinced that these biomimetic macrocycles will make further contributions to supramolecular chemistry and beyond.