Abstract
The majority of discrete structures obtained by self-assembly possess high symmetry, and thus low complexity: all subunits relate to their neighbours in a similar manner. Now, the spontaneous formation of complex low-symmetry assemblies produced from a single building block has been demonstrated using a systems chemistry approach. The single building block oligomerizes to form specific homomeric cyclic macromolecules that adopt a folded conformation. Self-assembly is a powerful method to obtain large discrete functional molecular architectures. When using a single building block, self-assembly generally yields symmetrical objects in which all the subunits relate similarly to their neighbours. Here we report the discovery of a family of self-constructing cyclic macromolecules with stable folded conformations of low symmetry, which include some with a prime number (13, 17 and 23) of units, despite being formed from a single component. The formation of these objects amounts to the production of polymers with a perfectly uniform length. Design rules for the spontaneous emergence of such macromolecules include endowing monomers with a strong potential for non-covalent interactions that remain frustrated in competing entropically favoured yet conformationally restrained smaller cycles. The process can also be templated by a guest molecule that itself has an asymmetrical structure, which paves the way to molecular imprinting techniques at the level of single polymer chains.
| Dokumententyp: | Zeitschriftenartikel |
|---|---|
| Fakultät: | Chemie und Pharmazie > Department für Pharmazie - Zentrum für Pharmaforschung |
| Themengebiete: | 500 Naturwissenschaften und Mathematik > 540 Chemie |
| ISSN: | 1755-4330 |
| Sprache: | Englisch |
| Dokumenten ID: | 89822 |
| Datum der Veröffentlichung auf Open Access LMU: | 25. Jan. 2022, 09:32 |
| Letzte Änderungen: | 25. Jan. 2022, 09:32 |
- Dokument bearbeiten
