Themed collection Most popular 2019-2020 supramolecular chemistry articles

Covalent and non-covalent approaches to tune the stability of organic radicals through steric effects and the delocalization of spin density.

This review describes the synthesis and application of shapeshifting molecules, whose covalent skeletons dynamically reconfigure in response to their surroundings.

The non-covalent interactions between polyoxometalates and inorganic- and organic-based moieties give rise to functional nanoassemblies with diverse potential in applied science.

We report a serendipitous finding of platinum(II) complexes serving as non-covalent crosslinkers for the fabrication of supramolecular DNA hydrogels.

We report a 2-hydroxy-N¹,N³-diarylisophthalamide-based self-assembled channel that cotransports M⁺/Cl⁻ and induces apoptotic cell death.

The presence or absence of s-block metal ions induces reversible structural transformation of molecular knots.

Redox-active ligands are used to reversibly tune electrical conductivity in a porous 3D metal–organic framework (MOF).

Steric and geometric constraints were used to design unsymmetrical ditopic ligands that form single Pd₂L₄ cage isomers with high fidelity.

We report the bidirectional enantioselective synthesis of bis-benzofuran atropisomeric oligoarenes featuring two distal C–C stereogenic axes. These are controlled by a two-fold central-to-axial chirality conversion upon oxidative aromatization.

A new amphiphilic diblock copolymer prepared via polymerization-induced self-assembly forms spheres, worms, vesicles or lamellae in aqueous solution on adjusting the temperature.

Lipophilic macrocycles efficiently extract sulfate ions from water into chloroform and transport this ion across a bulk liquid membrane in the presence of competing anions (chloride, nitrate and dihydrogenphosphate).

Synthetic anion transporters are active in cystic fibrosis cells, and are additive to clinically-approved drugs, suggesting new combination therapies for this lethal genetic condition.

In this study, we report the first supramolecular indicator displacement assay (IDA) based on cucurbit[n]uril (CBn) host and a [2.2]paracyclophane derivative as indicator that is operational in blood serum.

A water insoluble peptide-hydrogel that shows unique compartmentalization by not allowing any exchange to and from the hydrogel and can protect enzymes from denaturation.

Oligoprolines of differing lengths control the self-assembly of quaterthiophenes into mono-layered or double-layered sheets, or helically twisted ribbons.

A supramolecular chirality transition driven by monodentate ligand binding, the present strategy shows promise for the rational design of dynamic coordination chirality capable of alternating between chiral objects of different shapes driven by a specific external stimulus.

We test whether the similarities between halogen and hydrogen bonds could be used to design a surface-confined halogen-bond based network.

A differential sensor based on cages discriminate guests according to their length.

A photoresponsive supramolecular assembly was constructed and presented multi-color fluorescence emissions in several environments including solution, PVA and living cells.

Chemiluminescence offers advantages over fluorescence for bioimaging, since an external light source is unnecessary with chemiluminescent agents.

By using a vortex mixing-accompanied self-assembly strategy, homochiral entities with controlled handedness were obtained from exclusively achiral molecules.

By manipulating both the dissolution sequence of polymer crystallites and the growth rate of polymer unimers, patchy comicelles and block comicelles with uniform and controllable length can be obtained.

A modular two-component supramolecular hydrogel composed of a peptide core and carbohydrate shell as a minimalistic mimic of proteoglycans.

For a series of six-membered neutral polar guests, the cavity of 1oo provides a better hydrogen-bond donor environment than water.

A series of fluorinated tripodal tris-thioureas function as highly active anion transporters across lipid bilayers and cell membranes.

Construction of metal–organic containers that are soluble and stable in water can be challenging – we present diverse strategies that allow the synthesis of kinetically robust water-soluble architectures via subcomponent self-assembly.

Self-assembling macrobicyclic cryptand-type organic cages display remarkable self-sorting behavior with efficient component selection.

Stimuli-responsive polyacrylamide hydrogels crosslinked by glucosamine–boronate/G-quadruplexes or azobenzene-functionalized DNA reveal controlled stiffness using chemical or photochemical triggers.

Nanobowls with controlled openings and interior holes are created by self-assembly of homopolymers with hydrogen bonding and π–π interaction.

We unravel the impact of metal coordination and light irradiation on hierarchical self-assembly processes by combined theoretical and experimental results.