Reconfigurable Mechanically Interlocked Metal-Organic Nanocages for Adaptive Guest Recognition and Allosteric...

Area of Science:

• Supramolecular Chemistry
• Nanotechnology
• Chemical Engineering

Background:

• Replicating biological allosteric regulation in synthetic nanostructures is a significant challenge.
• Developing stimuli-responsive platforms for molecular recognition is crucial for nanotechnology.

Purpose of the Study:

• To engineer a reconfigurable nanocage capable of mechanical interlocking for stimuli-responsive molecular recognition.
• To investigate the allosteric response and anion selectivity of the engineered nanostructure.

Main Methods:

• Fabrication of a reconfigurable palladium-based nanocage (Ex-MC) that forms a dimer (I-Ex-MC) via thermal stimuli.
• Utilizing electrostatic interactions and triphenylamine scaffolds for selective anion binding.
• Employing thermodynamic analysis to study monomer-dimer interconversion and allosteric effects.

Main Results:

• The nanocage selectively binds sulfonate anions (up to 380-fold) via an induced-fit mechanism.
• Monomer-dimer interconversion is reversible with temperature or pH changes.
• Encapsulation of perrhenate anions induces an allosteric response, altering nanocage cavity dimensions.

Conclusions:

• Mechanical interlocking provides a strategy for creating adaptive nanoarchitectures.
• The developed nanocage platform demonstrates enzyme-like molecular recognition and biological receptor-like allosteric behavior.
• Potential applications include selective sensing, molecular separation, and intelligent nanomachinery.