Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 21, 2025
10:10
Spatiotemporally Controlled Nuclear Translocation of Guests in Living Cells Using Caged Molecular Glues as Photoactivatable Tags
Published on: January 17, 2019
10.4K
A conformationally adaptable tetrahedral cage with different guest encapsulation models.
Hua Tang1, Yuyang Lu1, Yongwei Qian1
1Stoddart Institute of Molecular Science, Department of Chemistry, Zhejiang University Hangzhou 310058 China lihao2015@zju.edu.cn hongliang.chen@zju.edu.cn.
Chemical Science
|May 19, 2025
Summary
Researchers created a adaptable cage molecule using imine condensation. This molecule can change its internal volume to capture various guest molecules, similar to enzyme activity.
Area of Science:
- Supramolecular Chemistry
- Organic Chemistry
- Materials Science
Background:
- Designing adaptable molecular architectures is crucial for developing advanced functional materials.
- Self-assembly through imine condensation offers a versatile route to complex structures.
Purpose of the Study:
- To synthesize a novel tetrahedral cage molecule with adaptable conformational properties.
- To investigate the molecule's ability to encapsulate guest molecules by modulating its cavity volume.
Main Methods:
- One-pot synthesis via imine condensation.
- Characterization of the cage structure and its conformational flexibility.
- Guest encapsulation studies using quaternary ammoniums and alkali cations.
Main Results:
- A tetrahedral cage molecule with four trisamino vertices and four trisformyl faces was successfully synthesized.
- The cage exhibits adaptable conformations due to the pivoting of twelve pyridyl units.
- The cage demonstrated tunable cavity volume for encapsulating diverse guest molecules via dipole-cation forces and hydrogen bonding.
Conclusions:
- The synthesized cage molecule displays enzyme-like conformational adaptability.
- This adaptable cage represents a promising platform for molecular recognition and host-guest chemistry.
- The findings open avenues for designing responsive materials with tailored encapsulation properties.
Related Concept Videos
02:02Chair Conformation of Cyclohexane
14.2K
The chair conformation is the most stable form of cyclohexane due to the absence of angle and torsional strain. The absence of angle strain is a result of cyclohexane’s bond angle being very close to the ideal tetrahedral bond angle of 109.5° in its chair conformer. Similarly, the torsional strain is also absent owing to the perfectly staggered arrangement of bonds.
The hydrogen atoms linked to carbons are arranged in two different axial and equatorial orientations to achieve this...
The hydrogen atoms linked to carbons are arranged in two different axial and equatorial orientations to achieve this...
14.2K
02:11Conformations of Cyclohexane
12.0K
Cyclohexane does not exist in a planar form due to the high angle and torsional strain it would experience in the planar structure. Instead, it adopts non-planar chair and boat conformations.
The chair form is the most stable and derives its name from its resemblance to the “easy chair.” In the chair conformation, two carbon atoms are arranged out-of-plane — one above and one below, minimizing the torsional strain. In the chair form, the bond angle is very close to the ideal...
The chair form is the most stable and derives its name from its resemblance to the “easy chair.” In the chair conformation, two carbon atoms are arranged out-of-plane — one above and one below, minimizing the torsional strain. In the chair form, the bond angle is very close to the ideal...
12.0K
01:57Protein Complexes with Interchangeable Parts
2.5K
Groups of proteins may form a complex where each protein in this complex has a different role in the overall execution of the complex’s function. Often some of the proteins in the complex can be replaced by a closely related variant to give a complex that contains many of the same components yet is functionally distinct.
The SCF ubiquitin ligase is a protein complex of five individual proteins. This complex attaches ubiquitin to other target proteins to mark them for degradation. In order...
The SCF ubiquitin ligase is a protein complex of five individual proteins. This complex attaches ubiquitin to other target proteins to mark them for degradation. In order...
2.5K
02:46Crystal Field Theory - Tetrahedral and Square Planar Complexes
41.0K
Tetrahedral Complexes
Crystal field theory (CFT) is applicable to molecules in geometries other than octahedral. In octahedral complexes, the lobes of the dx2ây2 and dz2 orbitals point directly at the ligands. For tetrahedral complexes, the d orbitals remain in place, but with only four ligands located between the axes. None of the orbitals points directly at the tetrahedral ligands. However, the dx2ây2 and dz2 orbitals (along the Cartesian axes) overlap with the ligands less than...
Crystal field theory (CFT) is applicable to molecules in geometries other than octahedral. In octahedral complexes, the lobes of the dx2ây2 and dz2 orbitals point directly at the ligands. For tetrahedral complexes, the d orbitals remain in place, but with only four ligands located between the axes. None of the orbitals points directly at the tetrahedral ligands. However, the dx2ây2 and dz2 orbitals (along the Cartesian axes) overlap with the ligands less than...
41.0K
01:12Clathrin Coated Vesicles
6.7K
Clathrin-coated vesicles use endocytosis to transport receptors and lysosomal hydrolases from the Golgi to the lysosome in the late secretory pathway. Clathrin-mediated endocytosis was the first described endocytic process, and Clathrin-coated vesicles remain one of the most well-studied transport vesicles. The molecular machinery that generates clathrin-coated vesicles comprises over 50 proteins that precisely coordinate vesicle formation. Cell surface receptors concentrated in indented sites...
6.7K
02:42Valence Bond Theory
8.4K
Coordination compounds and complexes exhibit different colors, geometries, and magnetic behavior, depending on the metal atom/ion and ligands from which they are composed. In an attempt to explain the bonding and structure of coordination complexes, Linus Pauling proposed the valence bond theory, or VBT, using the concepts of hybridization and the overlapping of the atomic orbitals. According to VBT, the central metal atom or ion (Lewis acid) hybridizes to provide empty orbitals of suitable...
8.4K