Rotaxane-Like Structures Threaded through the Pores of Hollow Porous Nanocapusles

Nanocapsules with molecules threaded through the porous shells may lead to advanced cell-mimicking functional devices. Herein, we show the feasibility of synthesizing such hybrid nanostructures by using vesicle-templated polymer nanocapsules with controlled nanopores. Ship-in-a-bottle assembly inside a nanocapsule created an internal unit. An external unit was then connected to an entrapped internal unit through pre-attached linker threaded through a nanopore in the shell of the nanocapsule. Both internal and external units are larger than the pore size and cannot cross the shell, producing a rotaxane-like structure. Successful synthesis was achieved with fairly short linkers (six and ten carbon atoms in a chain), creating an opportunity for facile synthesis of functional devices capable of cross-shell communication.