Understanding the effects of preorganization, rigidity, and steric interactions in synthetic barbiturate receptors

Synthetic barbiturate receptors have been utilized for many applications due to their high binding affinities for complementary guests. Although interest in this class of receptors spans from supramolecular to materials chemistry, the effects of receptor steric bulk and preorganization on guest binding affinity has not been studied systematically. To investigate the roles that steric bulk and preorganization play in guest binding, we prepared a series of 12 deconstructed Hamilton receptors with varying degrees of steric bulk and preorganization. Both diethylbarbital and 3-methyl-7-propylxanthine were investigated as guests for the synthetic receptors. The stoichiometry of guest binding was investigated using Job plots for each host-guest pair, and (1)H NMR titrations were performed to measure the guest binding affinities. To complement the solution-state studies, DFT calculations at the B3LYP/6-31+G(d,p) level of theory employing the IEF-PCM CHCl3 solvation model were also performed. Calculated guest binding energies correlated well with the experimental findings and provided additional insight into the factors influencing guest binding. Taken together, the results presented highlight the interplay between preorganization and steric interactions in establishing favorable interactions for self-assembled hydrogen-bonded systems.