A polyaromatic nanocapsule as a sucrose receptor in water.
basic_science · Level V
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- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 28875169.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1126/sciadv.1701126 and PMC identifier 5573335.
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Abstract
Selective recognition of saccharides by artificial receptors in water is a challenging goal due to their strong hydrophilicities and complex molecular structures with subtle regio- and stereochemical differences. We report the selective and efficient encapsulation of d-sucrose within a coordination-driven molecular capsule from natural saccharide mixtures in water (~100% selectivity, >85% yield, and ~10<sup>3</sup> M<sup>-1</sup> binding constant). Unlike previous artificial receptors and natural receptors that rely on multiple hydrogen-bonding interactions, theoretical calculations and control experiments indicate that the observed unique selectivity arises from multiple CH-π interactions between the sucrose hydrocarbon backbone and the shape-complementary polyaromatic cavity (~1 nm in diameter) of the capsule.