Enzyme-like Acyl Transfer Catalysis in a Bifunctional Organic Cage

Amide-based organic cage cavities are, in principle, ideal enzyme active site mimics. Yet, cage-promoted organocatalysis has remained elusive, in large part due to synthetic accessibility of robust and functional scaffolds. Herein, we report the acyl transfer catalysis properties of robust, hexaamide cages in organic solvent. Cage structural variation reveals that esterification catalysis with an acyl anhydride acyl carrier occurs only in bifunctional cages featuring internal pyridine motifs and two crucial antipodal carboxylic acid groups. ¹H NMR data and X-ray crystallography show that the acyl carrier is rapidly activated inside the cavity as a covalent mixed-anhydride intermediate with an internal hydrogen bond. Michaelis-Menten (saturation) kinetics suggest weak binding (K_M = 0.16 M) of the alcohol pronucleophile close to the internal anhydride. Finally, activation and delivery of the alcohol to the internal anhydride by the second carboxylic acid group forms ester product and releases the cage catalyst. Eyring analysis indicates a strong enthalpic stabilization of the transition state (5.5 kcal/mol) corresponding to a rate acceleration of 10⁴ over background acylation, and an ordered, associative rate-determining attack by the alcohol, supported by DFT calculations. We conclude that internal bifunctional organocatalysis specific to the cage structural design is responsible for the enhancement over the background reaction. These results pave the way for organic-phase enzyme mimicry in self-assembled cavities with the potential for cavity elaboration to enact selective acylations.