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Updated: Nov 20, 2025

Self-assembling Morphologies Obtained from Helical Polycarbodiimide Copolymers and Their Triazole Derivatives
Published on: February 7, 2017
Interplay between a Foldamer Helix and a Macrocycle in a Foldarotaxane Architecture
Maxime Gauthier1, Victor Koehler2, Caroline Clavel1
1Supramolecular Machines and ARchitectures Team, Institut des Biomolécules Max Mousseron (IBMM) UMR 5247 CNRS, Université de Montpellier, ENSCM, case courrier 1706, Bâtiment Chimie (17), 3ème étage, Faculté des Sciences, Place Eugène Bataillon, 34095, Montpellier cedex 5, France.
Abstract:
The design and synthesis of a novel rotaxane/foldaxane hybrid architecture is reported. The winding of an aromatic oligoamide helix host around a dumbbell-shaped thread-like guest, or axle, already surrounded by a macrocycle was evidenced by NMR spectroscopy and X-ray crystallography. The process proved to depend on the position of the macrocycle along the axle and the associated steric hindrance. The macrocycle thus behaves as a switchable shield that modulates the affinity of the helix for the axle. Reciprocally, the foldamer helix acts as a supramolecular auxiliary that compartmentalizes the axle. In some cases, the macrocycle is forced to move along the axle to allow the foldamer to reach its best recognition site.
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