Switchable silver-ion complexation by triazolated calix[4]semitubes.

Triazolated calix[4]semitubes comprising several binding sites were studied for complexation of Ag+ to get insight into the ability of the multitopic semi-tubular environment to host cation(s) in a structure-specific/switchable manner. For this purpose, a series of triazolated calix[4]semitubes having two or three 1,3-alternate calix[4]arene cores and crown-5-ether loops in the structures were prepared using the recently developed stepwise synthesis approach. Crown-5-ether loops were used as model receptor units which could be filled with K+ to charge positively either a specific 'end' or both 'ends' of the semi-tubular assemblies and to affect the complexation abilities of the internal binding sites of triazolated calix[4]semitubes. Comparative analysis of complexation-induced broadening in the 1H NMR spectra of three isomeric tris(calixarenes) having different mutual arrangements of the internal binding sites upon addition of Ag+ suggested intramolecular rather than intermolecular migrations of the bound cation between two bistriazole units. The study on Ag+/K+ complexation by the crowned biscalixarene semitubes revealed strong dependence of the ditopic complexation mode on the mutual arrangement of the triazole and crownether sites within the molecule, which managed either the heterodinuclear Ag+/K+ binding, or switching between two single-nuclear complexes. In crowned triscalixarene semitubular systems, the same structure/complexation mode correlation was observed, but in this case, binding of K+ by an appropriately arranged crownether loop did not destroy the initial silver complex, but stopped the above migrations of Ag+ between the internal sites of heteromultitopic ligands, thus indicating the applicability of the triscalixarene semitubular core for the design of multipositioned molecular switches.

Interaction of Ionenes with Lipid Membrane: Unusual Impact of Charge Density.

Synthetic water-soluble polymers are increasingly used for gene delivery, stabilization, and delivery of proteins, and as prospective antimicrobial and antiviral agents. Therefore, study of their interaction with lipid membranes is of special importance. Herein, we studied interaction of aliphatic cationic ionenes (recently tested for gene delivery efficiency) differed in the length of spacer between charged groups (and therefore in charge density) with anionic lipid membrane. A range of approaches such as measurement of particle size and electrophoretic mobility, liposome integrity, ATR-FTIR spectroscopy, isothermal titration calorimetry as well as atomistic molecular modeling was used. Ionene with a spacer of 10 methylene groups has been shown to be incorporated into membrane and interact with its inner hydrophobic part in contrast to ionenes with shorter spacer, which interacted only with outer polar head groups of lipids staying at the water-membrane interface. It affects membrane integrity and results in a different behavior of the polymer-liposome complexes. These findings are relevant for potential biomedical application of ionenes, including creation of composite polymer-liposome systems for drug delivery.

Inherently dinuclear iridium(III) meso architectures accessed by cyclometalation of calix[4]arene-based bis(aryltriazoles).

Conventional cyclometalation of calix[4]arene bis(aryltriazoles) with iridium(III) chloride hydrate leads to unique meso architectures in which the Ir2Cl2 core is cross-bound by two (C^N)2 ligands, which allows further replacement of the chloride bridges with ancillary ligands while maintaining the dinuclear structures of the complexes having independent or coupled iridium pairs.