Isothermal calorimetric titrations on charge-assisted halogen bonds: role of entropy, counterions, solvent, and temperature.

We have conducted isothermal calorimetric titrations to investigate the halogen-bond strength of cationic bidentate halogen-bond donors toward halides, using bis(iodoimidazolium) compounds as probes. These data are intended to aid the rational design of halogen-bond donors as well as the development of halogen-bond-based applications in solution. In all cases examined, the entropic contribution to the overall free energy of binding was found to be very important. The binding affinities showed little dependency on the weakly coordinating counteranions of the halogen-bond donors but became slightly stronger with higher temperatures. We also found a marked influence of different solvents on the interaction strength. The highest binding constant detected in this study was 3.3 × 10(6) M(-1).

Nanomechanical recognition of N-methylammonium salts.

Turning molecular recognition into an effective mechanical response is critical for many applications ranging from molecular motors and responsive materials to sensors. Herein, we demonstrate how the energy of the molecular recognition between a supramolecular host and small alkylammonium salts can be harnessed to perform a nanomechanical task in a univocal way. Nanomechanical Si microcantilevers (MCs) functionalized by a film of tetra-phosphonate cavitands were employed to screen as guests the compounds of the butylammonium chloride series 1-4, which comprises a range of low molecular weight (LMW) molecules (molecular mass < 150 Da) that differ from each other by one or a few N-methyl groups (molecular mass 15 Da). The cavitand surface recognition of each individual guest drove a specific MC bending (from a few to several tens of nanometer), disclosing a direct, label-free, and real-time mean to sort them. The complexation preferences of tetraphosphonate cavitands toward ammonium chloride guests 1-4 were independently assessed by isothermal titration calorimetry. Both direct and displacement binding experiments concurred to define the following binding order in the alkylammonium series: 2 > 3 ≈ 1 ≫ 4. This trend is consistent with the number of interactions established by each guest with the host. The complementary ITC experiments showed that the host-guest complexation affinity in solution is transferred to the MC bending. These findings were benchmarked by implementing cavitand-functionalized MCs to discriminate sarcosine from glycine in water.

Hosting anions. The energetic perspective.

Hosting anions addresses the widely spread molecular recognition event of negatively charged species by dedicated organic compounds in condensed phases at equilibrium. The experimentally accessible energetic features comprise the entire system including the solvent, any buffers, background electrolytes or other components introduced for e.g. analysis. The deconvolution of all these interaction types and their dependence on subtle structural variation is required to arrive at a structure-energy correlation that may serve as a guide in receptor construction. The focus on direct host-guest interactions (lock-and-key complementarity) that have dominated the binding concepts of artificial receptors in the past must be widened in order to account for entropic contributions which constitute very significant fractions of the total free energy of interaction. Including entropy necessarily addresses the ambiguity and fuzziness of the host-guest structural ensemble and requires the appreciation of the fact that most liquid phases possess distinct structures of their own. Apparently, it is the perturbation of the intrinsic solvent structure occurring upon association that rules ion binding in polar media where ions are soluble and abundant. Rather than specifying peculiar structural elements useful in anion binding this critical review attempts an illumination of the concepts and individual energetic contributions resulting in the final observation of specific anion recognition (95 references).

Calix[4]pyrrole-based anion transporters with tuneable transport properties.

Three new bis-1,2,3-triazole strapped calix[4]pyrroles have been prepared via'click' chemistry and their anion complexation and lipid bilayer transport properties studied by a combination of single crystal X-ray diffraction studies, (1)H NMR titration techniques, isothermal titration calorimetry and lipid bilayer anion transport studies in POPC vesicles. Bilayer transport efficiency for transmembrane chloride transport was found to directly depend on the length of the alkyl chain present in the bis-triazole strap.

1,2,3-triazole-strapped calix[4]pyrrole: a new membrane transporter for chloride.

A new triazole-strapped calix[4]pyrrole synthesised via'click' chemistry shows high affinity for chloride and lipid bilayer chloride transport properties.

Judging on host-guest binding mode uniqueness: association entropy as an indicator in enantioselection.

[reaction: see text] Supramolecular enantiodifferentiation was studied by isothermal titration calorimetry in an effort to address the order-disorder distinction in the diastereomeric complexes formed from a chiral macrocyclic host and enantiomeric carboxylates. As a result, the association entropy component TDeltaS emerged as an indicator in the enantioselection of tartrate 14 and aspartate 15 by the macrocycle 13 containing two guanidinium anchor groups connected to each other by four urea units. The parent monotopic guanidinium compounds 1 or 2 did not show any enantioselection for chiral carboxylates.

Surprises in the design of anion receptors: calorimetry prevents false reasoning.

Supplementing bicyclic guanidinium anion receptors with four sec-carboxamido groups leads to enhanced affinity for oxoanions, however, for a different reason than originally planned. Calorimetric analysis reveals that better binding is due to higher association entropies rather than more negative enthalpies. Thus, molecular design following geometric and functional complementarity principles may misguide supramolecular constructions aimed at a unique host-guest binding mode, as required, e.g., by self-assembly or catalysis.

Surprises in the energetics of host-guest anion binding to calix[4]pyrrole.

Contrary to common expectation, calorimetric measurements do not corroborate the preference of calix[4]pyrrole for fluoride over chloride in acetonitrile solution.

Anion-controlled assembly of porphyrin-bicyclic guanidine conjugates.

[reaction: see text] Cationic porphyrins 1-3 bearing one, two, and four bicyclic guanidines form highly ordered chiral assemblies in aqueous solutions. The chirality is controlled by the type of the anionic counterpart and results from a spontaneous process. The chiral assemblies of 1-3 relate structurally to the complexes of achiral porphyrins with helical DNA. However, the presence of a chiral template (DNA, poly L-Glu were tested) is not necessary for formation of these specific chiral porphyrin assemblies.

Water Soluble Cationic Phosphine Ligands Containing m-Guanidinium Phenyl Moieties. Syntheses and Applications in Aqueous Heck Type Reactions.

Cationic phosphine ligands containing m-guanidinium phenyl substituents {Ph(3-n)P[C(6)H(4)-m-NHC(NH(2))(NMe(2))](n)}(n+) nCl(-) (n = 1-3) (17a-c) have been obtained by addition of dimethylcyanamide to the amino groups of tertiary (m-aminophenyl)phosphines in acidic medium. The tertiary (m-aminophenyl)phosphines Ph(3-n)P(C(6)H(4)-m-NH(2))(n) (4a-c) were prepared by reaction of (3-[N,N-bis(trimethylsilyl)amino]phenyl)magnesium chloride (1) with chlorophosphines Ph(3-n)PCl(n) followed by deprotection of the bis(trimethylsilyl)amino groups with methanol. Using a similar protected group synthesis as above, the secondary (m-aminophenyl)phosphine Ph(H)PC(6)H(4)-m-NH(2) (7) could be prepared as well. It may be employed as a building block for the syntheses of chiral bidentate phosphine ligands (11, 14, and 15) bearing m-aminophenyl substituents. The guanidinium phosphines 17b and 17c are readily soluble in water. A comparative study of 17b and 17c, the aryl alkyl guanidinium phosphines 18 and 19, and TPPTS (P(C(6)H(4)-m-SO(3)Na)(3)) in the aqueous phase palladium-catalyzed C-C coupling reaction between p-iodobenzoate and (trifluoroacetyl)propargylamine shows 17b to be of surmounting activity.

Bioconjugation of Peptides by Palladium-Catalyzed C-C Cross-Coupling in Water.

The abiotic, regioselective conjugation of peptides and proteins with non-proteinogenic structural elements requires mild and fast coupling reactions which are compatible with an aqueous reaction medium and orthogonal in their reactivity with all other functional groups in the protein. Sonogashira coupling with a palladium-guanidinophosphane catalyst that is prepared in situ (see reaction on the right) complies with these demands.

The Binding of Sulfate Anions by Guanidinium Receptors is Entropy-Driven.

Clear trends in the molecular recognition of guest species by artificial hosts in solution are often observed by intrinsic enthalpy-entropy compensation, which requires the dissection of these free-energy components. Contrary to common belief, it is not the enthalpic electrostatic attraction that makes guanidinium hosts such as 1 strong binders for sulfate anions. Isothermal titration calorimetry has now allowed this molecular recognition to be characterized as an entropy-driven association.

A novel synthesis of chiral guanidinium receptors and their use in unfolding the energetics of enantiorecognition of chiral carboxylates.

A novel synthetic route to the versatile chiral bicyclic guanidinium building block is described making use of l-methionine as a starting material from the natural chiral pool. Furthermore, the synthetic elaboration of this building block is shown in the construction of macrocyclic and open chain hosts, respectively. The host design employs urea functions as the connecting units and supplementary anchor groups for the complexation of anions. The binding studies of these hosts with various chiral and achiral oxoanions are performed by isothermal titration calorimetry. A trend analysis of the binding energetics in an ensemble of structurally similar guests discloses the importance of geometrical confinement of the guest. Association entropy rather than free energy (affinity) is identified as an indicator of structural uniqueness needed to distinguish configurational isomers in the recognition of enantiomeric carboxylates by the chiral guanidinium hosts.

Addressing association entropy by reconstructing guanidinium anchor groups for anion binding: design, synthesis, and host-guest binding studies in polar and protic solutions.

The bicyclic hexahydropyrimidino[1,2a]pyrimidine cationic scaffold has a well-known capacity to bind a variety of oxoanions (phosphates, carboxylates, squarates, phosphinates). Based on this feature, the parent host was supplemented with sec-carboxamido substituents to generate compounds 1-3 in an effort to improve the anion-binding affinity and selectivity and to learn about the role and magnitude of entropic factors. Bicyclic guanidinium compounds were prepared by a convergent strategy via the corresponding tetraester 22 followed by catalytic amidation. Host-guest binding studies with isothermal titration calorimetry in acetonitrile probed the behavior of artificial hosts 1-3 in comparison with the tetraallylguanidinium compound 4 on binding p-nitrobenzoate, dihydrogenphosphate, and 2,2'-bisphenolcyclophosphate guests that showed enhanced affinities in the 10(5)-10(6) M(-1) range. Contrary to expectation, better binding emerges from more positive association entropies rather than from stronger enthalpic interactions (hydrogen bonding). In an NMR spectroscopy titration in DMSO, o-phthalate was sufficiently basic to abstract a proton from the guanidinium function, as confirmed by an X-ray crystal structure of the product. The novel carboxamide-appended anchor groups also bind carboxylates and phosphates, but not hydrogen sulfate in methanol with affinities in excess of 10(4) M(-1). The energetic signature of the complexation in methanol is inverted with respect to acetonitrile solvent and shows a pattern of general ion pairing with strong positive entropies overcompensating endothermic binding enthalpies. This study provides an example of the fact that bona fide decoration of a parent guanidinium anchor function with an additional binding functionality may provide the desired enhancement of the host-guest affinity, yet for a different reason than that implemented by design as guided by standard molecular modeling.

Cooperative binding of calix[4]pyrrole-anion complexes and alkylammonium cations in halogenated solvents.

Calix[4]pyrrole-chloride interactions are affected not only by the choice of countercation in halogenated solvents, but show a specific dependence on the way in which these cations are bound within the electron rich, bowl-like calix[4]pyrrole cavity formed upon chloride anion complexation. In dichloromethane, the affinities of simple meso-octamethylcalix[4]pyrrole (1) for methyl-, ethyl-, and n-butylammonium chlorides are on the order of 10(5), 10(4), and 10(2) M(-1), respectively, as determined from isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC) analyses. These cation-dependent anion affinity effects, while clearly evident, are less pronounced in other halogenated solvents, such as 1,2-dichloroethane. Support for the proposed cation complexation selectivity is provided by solid state X-ray crystallographic analyses.

Calix[4]pyrrole as a chloride anion receptor: solvent and countercation effects.

The interaction of calixpyrrole with several chloride salts has been studied in the solid state by X-ray crystallography as well as in solution by isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC) and (1)H NMR spectroscopic titrations. The titration results in dimethylsulfoxide, acetonitrile, nitromethane, 1,2-dichloroethane, and dichloromethane, carried out using various chloride salts, specifically tetraethylammonium (TEA), tetrapropylammonium (TPA), tetrabutylammonium (TBA), tetraethylphosphonium (TEP), tetrabutylphosphonium (TBP), and tetraphenylphosphonium (TPhP), showed no dependence on method of measurement. The resulting affinity constants (K(a)), on the other hand, were found to be highly dependent on the choice of solvent with K(a)'s ranging from 10(2)-10(5) M(-1) being recorded in the test solvents used for this study. In dichloromethane, a strong dependence on the countercation was also seen, with the K(a)'s for the interaction with chloride ranging from 10(2)-10(4) M(-1). In the case of TPA, TBA, and TBP, the ITC data could not be fit to a 1:1 binding profile.

Probing binding-mode diversity in guanidinium-oxoanion host-guest systems.

An attempt to experimentally estimate the role of binding-mode diversity (structural fuzziness) on the molecular recognition seen in the prominent guanidinium-oxoanion host-guest pair is described. The global heat response as measured by isothermal titration calorimetry in acetonitrile, which was obtained from the interaction of five different but structurally closely related guanidinium hosts with three rigid phosphinate guests of decreasing accessibility of their binding sites, is correlated to provide a trend analysis. All host-guest associations of 1:1 stoichiometry in this series are strongly enthalpy-driven. The change in complexation entropy can be related to the tightness of the mutual fit of the host-guest partners, which approaches a minimum limit and is interpreted as the unique lock-and-key binding mode. The ordinary host-guest complexation in this ensemble features substantial positive entropy changes that correlate inversely with the binding interface area. This finding excludes desolvation effects as the major cause of entropy production, and provides evidence for the existence of a broad variety of complex configurations rather than a single binding mode to represent the associated host-guest pair. This result bears on the molecular design of systems that vitally depend on structural fidelity, such as nanoassemblies or homogeneous catalysis.