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Updated: May 19, 2026

Controlling the Size, Shape and Stability of Supramolecular Polymers in Water
Published on: August 2, 2012
Anion-induced reconstitution of a self-assembling system to express a chloride-binding Co10L15 pentagonal prism
Imogen A Riddell1, Maarten M J Smulders, Jack K Clegg
1Department of Chemistry, University of Cambridge, Lensfield Road, Cambridge CB2 1EW, UK.
Abstract:
Biochemical systems are adaptable, capable of reconstitution at all levels to achieve the functions associated with life. Synthetic chemical systems are more limited in their ability to reorganize to achieve new functions; they can reconfigure to bind an added substrate (template effect) or one binding event may modulate a receptor's affinity for a second substrate (allosteric effect). Here we describe a synthetic chemical system that is capable of structural reconstitution on receipt of one anionic signal (perchlorate) to create a tight binding pocket for another anion (chloride). The complex, barrel-like structure of the chloride receptor is templated by five perchlorate anions. This second-order templation phenomenon allows chemical networks to be envisaged that express more complex responses to chemical signals than is currently feasible.
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