Skip to content
DraconiticResearch
Search Sources API
201,818 studies31 sourcesUpdated 9 min ago
Peer-reviewedCC BY-NC 3.0Chemical Science

Salt-bridged macrocycles as building blocks for aqueous supramolecular nanotube formation

  • Jacobo Veiga-Herrero1
  • Isabel López-Martín1
  • Eduardo Anaya-Plaza2,3
  • Fátima Aparicio1,4
  • David González-Rodríguez1,4
4 affiliations
  1. 1Nanostructured Molecular Systems and Materials Group, Organic Chemistry Department, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid 28049 Madrid Spain
  2. 2Department of Bioproducts and Biosystems, School of Chemical Engineering, Aalto University Espoo 02150 Finland
  3. 3Faculty of Medicine and Health Technology, Tampere University 33520 Tampere Finland
  4. 4Institute for Advanced Research in Chemical Sciences (IAdChem), Universidad Autónoma de Madrid 28049 Madrid Spain
Read full textDOICite

Abstract

The programmed construction of nanotubular architectures through self-assembly remains a major challenge in supramolecular chemistry, especially when targeting pores with dimensions within the molecular scale (1–5 nm) in aqueous media. This work introduces a strategy that integrates covalent design with ionic hydrogen bonding interactions to generate discrete macrocycles that subsequently stack into nanotubes. Both supramolecular processes – cyclization and polymerization – were studied independently through a combination of 1H NMR, DOSY NMR, mass spectrometry, fluorescence spectroscopy, and SAXS, as well as AFM, TEM, and Cryo TEM microscopy techniques. Custom engineered C shaped monomers can cyclize with high fidelity into heterodimeric rings by establishment of dual carboxylate : amidinium salt bridge interactions, a process that can take place in both polar and apolar solvents and that is stabilized by chelate cooperativity. In aqueous environments, hydrophobic π–π interactions between the macrocycles drive supramolecular polymerization, yielding nanotubes with a diameter of ca. 4 nm. This novel approach validates a versatile platform for bottom-up nanotube construction, enabling compatibility with water, and expands the design space for functional nanostructures.

Related

  1. Supramolecular Architecture of Chiral Macrocycles: Hierarchical Assembly and Confinement Effect for Enhanced Circularly Polarized Luminescence
    Xin Song, Xuefeng Zhu, Shengfu Wu +3
    Accounts of Materials ResearchPeer-reviewedLicence not statedFull text7 citedOrganic chemistryOpenAlex
  2. Supramolecular Umpolung via Esterification: Converting Electron-Rich Phenolic Macrocycles into CH-Bonding Anion Receptors and Transporters
    Esma R. Abdurakhmanova, Bartłomiej Zawada, Marek P. Szymański +5
    JACS AuPeer-reviewedCC BY 4.0Full textOrganic chemistryCrossref
  3. Solid-State Host–Guest Chemistry of Cyanoborate-Bridged Cubane-Type Tetranuclear Ruthenium Complexes: Solvate Crystal Formation and Reversible Sorption of Volatile Organic Compounds
    Ryota Inoue, Zi Lang Goo, Kunihisa Sugimoto +1
    ChemRxivPreprintLicence not statedGeneral chemistryChemRxiv
  4. Molecular Insights into β-Cyclodextrin-Based Supramolecular Deep Eutectic Solvent Formation and Its Interactions with Curcumin
    Damen Nurgaliyeva, Mirat Karibayev, Galiya Baisalova +8
    MoleculesPeer-reviewedCC BY 4.0CatalysisCrossref
  5. A Machine-Learned Interatomic Potential Free-Energy Surface for the First Step of MIL-101(Cr) Secondary Building Unit Formation
    Orlando A. Mendible-Barreto, Yamil J. Colón
    arXivPreprintCC BY 4.0Full textPhysical chemistryAtomic, molecular & optical physicsarXiv

Cite

BibTeXRIS
BibTeX
@article{veigaherrero2026saltbridged,
  title = {{Salt-bridged macrocycles as building blocks for aqueous supramolecular nanotube formation}},
  author = {Jacobo Veiga-Herrero and Isabel López-Martín and Eduardo Anaya-Plaza and Fátima Aparicio and David González-Rodríguez},
  journal = {Chemical Science},
  year = {2026},
  month = sep,
  doi = {10.1039/d6sc04038a},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.1039/d6sc04038a},
  note = {CC BY-NC 3.0},
}
RIS
TY  - JOUR
TI  - Salt-bridged macrocycles as building blocks for aqueous supramolecular nanotube formation
AU  - Jacobo Veiga-Herrero
AU  - Isabel López-Martín
AU  - Eduardo Anaya-Plaza
AU  - Fátima Aparicio
AU  - David González-Rodríguez
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/09/14
JO  - Chemical Science
DO  - 10.1039/d6sc04038a
UR  - https://doi.org/10.1039/d6sc04038a
AB  - The programmed construction of nanotubular architectures through self-assembly remains a major challenge in supramolecular chemistry, especially when targeting pores with dimensions within the molecular scale (1–5 nm) in aqueous media. This work introduces a strategy that integrates covalent design with ionic hydrogen bonding interactions to generate discrete macrocycles that subsequently stack into nanotubes. Both supramolecular processes – cyclization and polymerization – were studied independently through a combination of 1H NMR, DOSY NMR, mass spectrometry, fluorescence spectroscopy, and SAXS, as well as AFM, TEM, and Cryo TEM microscopy techniques. Custom engineered C shaped monomers can cyclize with high fidelity into heterodimeric rings by establishment of dual carboxylate : amidinium salt bridge interactions, a process that can take place in both polar and apolar solvents and that is stabilized by chelate cooperativity. In aqueous environments, hydrophobic π–π interactions between the macrocycles drive supramolecular polymerization, yielding nanotubes with a diameter of ca. 4 nm. This novel approach validates a versatile platform for bottom-up nanotube construction, enabling compatibility with water, and expands the design space for functional nanostructures.
SN  - 2041-6520
SN  - 2041-6539
ER  -