Open Access Article
Alba
Cortés-Martínez
ab,
Cornelia
von Baeckmann
ab,
Laura
Hernández-López
ab,
Arnau
Carné-Sánchez
*ab and
Daniel
Maspoch
*abc
aCatalan Institute of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology (ICN2), CSIC and The Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology, Campus UAB, Bellaterra, 08193 Barcelona, Spain. E-mail: arnau.carne@icn2.cat; daniel.maspoch@icn2.cat
bDepartament de Química, Facultat de Ciències, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB), Cerdanyola del Vallès, 08193 Barcelona, Spain
cICREA, Pg. Lluís Companys 23, 08010 Barcelona, Spain
First published on 30th April 2024
Most reported porous materials are either extended networks or monomeric discrete cavities; indeed, porous structures of intermediate size have scarcely been explored. Herein, we present the stepwise linkage of discrete porous metal–organic cages or polyhedra (MOPs) into oligomeric structures with a finite number of MOP units. The synthesis of these new oligomeric porous molecules entails the preparation of 1-connected (1-c) MOPs with only one available azide reactive site on their surface. The azide-terminated 1-c MOP is linked through copper(I)-catalysed azide–alkyne cycloaddition click chemistry with additional alkyne-terminated 1-c MOPs, 4-c clusters, or 24-c MOPs to yield three classes of giant oligomeric molecules: dimeric, tetrameric, or satellite-like, respectively. Importantly, all the giant molecules that we synthesised are soluble in water and permanently porous in the solid state.
To overcome these challenges, one can take inspiration from the stepwise synthesis of giant organic18–22 and metal–organic23–25 molecules, in which each growing step proceeds through thermodynamic control. In the case of porous materials, this strategy entails the oligomerization of single pore units into giant multi-pore molecules. Pioneer studies have shown the viability of the pore oligomerization approach by either interlocking26–29 or linking a defined number of cages30–32 into multi-cage molecules. However, to the best of our knowledge, the permanent porosity of this giant molecules has not yet been demonstrated.
Herein we report the stepwise synthesis of permanently porous oligomeric molecules by the concatenation of a defined, finite number of metal–organic cages or polyhedra (MOPs). The resultant giant oligomeric porous molecules merge the properties that arise from linking pore-units (i.e. extrinsic porosity and inter-cavity cooperativity)33,34 to the those typically observed in molecules, such as defined molecular weight, stoichiometric reactivity, and solubility in liquids, including water.21–23,35
In our synthetic route to oligomeric porous molecules, the building blocks are robust Rh(II)-based MOPs (Rh-MOPs).36 Rh-MOPs can have up to 24 covalent reactive sites on their external surfaces, stemming from the 5-position of the 1,3-benzendicarboxylate (BDC) derivative used in their synthesis.37 Consequently, the high connectivity of Rh-MOPs complicates the control of their polymerisation into well-defined oligomeric structures rather than extended networks.38–41 To address this challenge, we aimed to create Rh-MOPs with only one reactive site on their surface. By employing protecting groups, we selectively masked the reactivity of 23 of the 24 reactive sites to yield 1-connected (1-c) Rh-MOPs.42 Next, using orthogonal chemistry, we assembled these 1-c MOPs with other 1-c MOPs or with 4-c clusters or 24-c Rh-MOPs to yield giant oligomeric molecules of three types: dimeric, tetrameric, or satellite-like (Fig. 1).
Next, to confer (COOH)1-RhMOP with the orthogonal reactivity required to oligomerise it with additional MOPs, we functionalised its surface with a single polyethylene glycol (PEG) chain terminated with either alkyne or azide group. Thus, (COOH)1-RhMOP was reacted with a PEG chain terminated at one end with a primary amine (for coupling to the surface carboxylic acid), and at the other end, with either an alkyne or azide moiety (for the oligomerisation). The coupling reactions between (COOH)1-RhMOP and either NH2-PEG38-N3 or NH2-PEG38-alkyne proceeded homogenously in N,N-dimethylformamide (DMF), using 1-hydroxybenzotriazole (HOBt), 2-(1H-benzotriazole-1-yl)-1,1,3,3-tetramethyluronium hexafluorophosphate (HBTU), and N,N-diisopropylethylamine (DIPEA) as coupling agents. They yielded two distinct MOPs, each with only one PEG chain attached at its surface: an azide-terminated one, having the formula (COOTSE-BDC)23(N3-PEG38-BDC)Rh24 (hereafter, (N3)1-RhMOP); and an alkyne-terminated one, having the formula (COOTSE-BDC)23(alkyne-PEG38-BDC)Rh24 (hereafter, (alkyne)1-RhMOP). The coupling of a single functionalised PEG chain on the surface of (COOH)1-RhMOP was first demonstrated by MALDI-TOF mass spectroscopy, which showed the expected mass for each product: 11
540 m/z for (N3)1-RhMOP and 11
521 m/z for (alkyne)1-RhMOP (Fig. 2a, S10 and S16† respectively). Both values agree with the respective calculated molecular weights for the corresponding expected molecular formulae of the 1-c Rh-MOPs: 11
544 ± 480 g mol−1 for [(COOTSE-BDC)23(N3-PEG38-BDC)Rh24 + H+]+ and 11
521 ± 370 g mol−1 for [(COOTSE-BDC)23(N3-PEG38-BDC)Rh24 + H+]+. The formation of a single amide bond on the surface of the MOP was further supported by the 1H-NMR analysis of the corresponding acid-digested samples: the spectra revealed the quantitative transformation of the initial BTC linker into a PEG functionalised BDC linker via amide-bond formation (Fig. S9 and S15†). The ratio between the PEG-functionalised BDC and COOTSE-BDC was found to be the expected value of 1
:
23 in both (N3)1-RhMOP and (alkyne)1-RhMOP (Fig. S7 and S13†). The DOSY analysis of (N3)1-RhMOP and (alkyne)1-RhMOP revealed a single diffusion-coefficient for the MOP core and the PEG chain in both products: 1.8 × 10−10 m2 s−1 and 1.7 × 10−10 m2 s−1 respectively (Fig. S8 and S14†). Interestingly, the remaining 23 protected carboxylic acid groups on the surface of (N3)1-RhMOP and (alkyne)1-RhMOP could be removed by treating both 1-c RhMOPs with excess of TBAF. Under these conditions, both deprotected (N3)1-RhMOP and (alkyne)1-RhMOP were functionalized with 23 carboxylic acid groups (Fig. S19–S30†).
Finally, to corroborate the synthesis of pure (COOH)1-RhMOP and derived mono-PEGylated compounds, we performed a control experiment consisting of reacting (COOH)1-RhMOP (obtained by treating a TSE-protected Rh-MOP with 1.5 mol eq. of TBAF) with an excess amount of NH2-PEG38-N3 (5 mol eq. per Rh-MOP). The product obtained from this reaction was analysed through MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry, showing only the peak corresponding to (N3)1-RhMOP that contains one attached PEG chain on the MOP surface (Fig. S31†). Conversely, when NH2-PEG38-N3 was reacted with Rh-MOPs containing a higher percentage of free carboxylic acid groups on their surface, a distribution of multi-PEGylated Rh-MOPs was obtained as a product. Specifically, PEGylated Rh-MOPs with 2 and 3 PEG chains on their surface were obtained when 5 mol eq. of NH2-PEG38-N3 was reacted with TSE-protected Rh-MOPs treated with 3 and 5 mol eq. of TBAF, respectively (Fig. S32†). These experiments confirm the successful synthesis of pure (COOH)1-RhMOP as the presence of Rh-MOPs with a higher number of available carboxylic acids on their surface would yield a distribution of PEGylated Rh-MOPs in the presence of excess of NH2-PEG38-N3.
:
1), using copper sulphate and sodium acetate as catalysts, to afford the corresponding crude products as a green solid. To facilitate the purification of the MOP-dimer, all surface TSE protecting groups were cleaved, which yielded a dimeric MOP in which each MOP unit had 23 available carboxylic acid groups. Next, the MOP-dimer was purified through successive washing with 0.3 M HCl and basic MeOH, in which the dimer is insoluble, but the catalyst and unreacted precursors are soluble. The obtained purified product exhibited pH-dependent aqueous solubility, which we ascribed to the presence of up to 46 available carboxylic groups. Once deprotonated, the carboxylate groups imparted negative charge to the resulting MOP-dimer, as confirmed by Z-potential measurements performed in basic water, which revealed a value of – 48.5 ± 6.9 mV for the MOP-dimer (Fig. S41†). The successful dimerization of two different MOPs was first evidenced by MALDI-TOF. The spectrum exhibited a single broad peak centred at 18
538 m/z, in good agreement with the expected mass (18
539 ± 850 g mol−1) for the MOP-dimer having a molecular formula of [(COOH-BDC)46(BDC-PEG38-1H-1,2,3-triazol-4-yl-PEG38-BDC)1Rh48-H+]−·DMF (Fig. 2b and S38†). DOSY NMR spectroscopy in basic D2O revealed a decrease in the diffusion coefficient from the deprotected 1-c MOP precursors (6.6 × 10−10 m2 s−1 and 6.9 × 10−10 m2 s−1) to the MOP-dimer (6.2 × 10−10 m2 s−1) (Fig. 2c, S20, S26 and S34†).44 Analogously, Dynamic Light Scattering (DLS) measurements revealed that the molecule size in solution had increased from that of the deprotected (N3)1-RhMOP (2.6 ± 0.2 nm) or the deprotected (alkyne)1-RhMOP (2.3 ± 0.3 nm), to that of the MOP-dimer (6.3 ± 1.1 nm) (Fig. 3a, S24, S30 and S40†).
To confirm that the two MOPs in MOP-dimer were linked through a covalent bond (i.e. the triazole ring formed upon the CuAAC reaction) and not simply entangled through supramolecular PEG-MOP interactions, we submitted it to acid digestion and then, analysed the resultant ligands through 1H-NMR (Fig. 2d). The spectrum of the isolated PEG linker clearly showed a peak at 8.11 ppm, which can be ascribed to the proton of the expected triazole ring (Fig. S35–S37†). Further analysis of the relative integration of the triazole ring and the aromatic core belonging to the Rh-MOP confirmed that every 1-c Rh-MOP was linked through a triazole ring. Together, these data confirmed that the two MOPs had indeed been assembled into one new dimer, thus corroborating our original idea that this could be accomplished by strategically controlling the number of reactive sites on the surface of the MOP precursors, and then subjecting them to orthogonal click chemistry.
:
1), using copper sulfate and sodium ascorbate as CuAAC catalysts. The reaction proceeded homogenously and, after 48 hours, it was quenched by extracting the crude reaction with 0.3 M HCl and water to remove the catalysts. The remaining organic solvent was removed in vacuo, and the resultant crude product was treated with TBAF to deprotect all the carboxylic acid groups present in the mixture. To purify the carboxylic acid-functionalised tetramer (hereafter, MOP-tetramer) from any unreacted 4-c cluster or (N3)1-RhMOP, the crude product was dissolved in basic water, and then filtered using a centrifugal filter with a molecular weight cut-off of 30 kDa. The MOP-tetramer was retained, whereas the (smaller) 4-c cluster and (N3)1-RhMOP passed through the filter. The purified MOP-tetramer was characterised by MALDI-TOF, which confirmed the successful attachment of four MOPs to the 4-c cluster, as evidenced by a broad peak centred at 39
027 m/z, in agreement with the expected mass of a MOP-tetramer having a molecular formula of [[(COOH-BDC)23(BDC-PEG38-1H-1,2,3-triazol-4-yl-PEG6-BDC)1Rh24]4Rh2 + H+]+ (39
047 ± 1480 g mol−1) (Fig. 3b and S48†). Moreover, the 1H-NMR spectrum of MOP-tetramer in basic D2O confirmed the expected ratio of aliphatic PEG protons to aromatic protons in the 1-c MOP and the 4-c cluster, which had the same diffusion coefficient of 5.5 × 10−10 m2 s−1 (Fig. 3b, S46 and S47†). Importantly, the higher oligomeric degree of MOP-tetramer compared to MOP-dimer was corroborated analytically by its lower diffusion coefficient (5.5 × 10−10 m2 s−1vs. 6.2 × 10−10 m2 s−1) and by its greater particle-size (7.2 ± 0.6 nm vs. 6.3 ± 1.1 nm), as revealed by DLS (Fig. 3a and S50†).
Finally, to further extend the oligomeric degree of this family of MOP-based giant molecules, we sought to prepare a highly connected node. We reasoned that such a node could be synthesised from a cuboctahedral Rh-MOP, which can contain up to 24 reactive sites on its surface. Thus, a 24-c node was synthesised using a Rh-MOP with all its carboxylic acid groups available (hereafter, COOH24-RhMOP). This entailed attaching 24 NH2-PEG6-alkyne chains, via amide-coupling chemistry, onto the surface of the COOH24-RhMOP to afford a 24-c node (hereafter, (alkyne)24-RhMOP). MALDI-TOF and 1H-NMR spectroscopy confirmed the quantitative functionalisation of COOH24-RhMOP into (alkyne)24Rh-MOP (Fig. S52–S55†). Next, 24-c (alkyne)24Rh-MOP was reacted with an excess of 1-c (N3)1-RhMOP (240 mol eq. per (alkyne)24-RhMOP) in a CuAAC click reaction to yield a satellite-like, MOP-based, giant molecule. The reaction proceeded homogenously in a mixture of CH2Cl2/DMF (1
:
1), using the same CuAAC catalysts as above with the addition of tris-(hydroxypropyltriazolylmethyl)amine (THPTA), for up to 14 days. Note that the chelating agent THPTA was used to further accelerate the reaction.46,47 The solvent was removed in vacuo to afford the crude product, which was then treated with TBAF to yield a deprotected, satellite-like molecule (hereafter, MOP-satellite) in which all the peripheral MOPs contained 23 surface carboxylic-acid groups available for further reactions. MOP-satellite is soluble in basic water and could be separated from unreacted (N3)1-RhMOPs using a centrifugal filter with a molecular weight cut-off of 50 kDa. The isolated, purified MOP-satellite was first analysed through mass spectrometry, which revealed a peak centred at 107
346 m/z, which we ascribed to a satellite structure having 10 peripheral MOPs and a molecular formula of [[((COOH-BDC)23(BDC-PEG38-1H-1,2,3-triazol-4-yl-PEG6-BDC)1Rh24)10(alkyne-PEG6-BDC)14Rh24] + H+]+ (expected molecular weight: 107
678 ± 3700 g mol−1; Fig. 3c and S59†). This molecular composition was further supported by the 1H-NMR spectrum of the MOP-satellite in basic D2O, in which the ratio of aromatic protons to aliphatic PEG protons was 0.39; in agreement with the expected value for a satellite with 10 peripheral MOPs (0.41) (Fig. S57†). The aromatic and aliphatic signals displayed the same diffusion coefficient of 4.7 × 10−11 m2 s−1 (Fig. 3c and S58†), which is the smallest value among those of the synthesised oligomeric MOP-based molecules, consistent with the MOP-satellite having the highest oligomeric degree and the largest molecule size (calculated: 8.6 nm; DLS value: 9.6 ± 0.8 nm (Fig. 3a and S61†). Finally, we also analysed the Na(I) to Rh(II) ratio of the fully deprotonated MOP-satellite salt through inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). The experimentally observed ratio of Na
:
Rh molar ratio was 1.19, which agrees with the expected value (1.15) (Table S1†).
Footnote |
| † Electronic supplementary information (ESI) available. See DOI: https://doi.org/10.1039/d4sc01974a |
| This journal is © The Royal Society of Chemistry 2024 |