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Chemical tools that recognise post-translational modifications have promising applications in biochemistry and in therapy. We report a simple carboxycalixarene that selectively binds molecules containing di/trimethylammonium moieties in isolation, in cell lysates and when incorporated in histone peptides. Our findings reveal the potential of using carboxycalixarene-based receptors to study epigenetic regulation.

New representatives of compounds combining both a macrocyclic building block and two flexible side arms as recognition units were prepared and their binding properties toward selected carbohydrates were evaluated. The aim of this study was to examine the effects of the replacement of the heterocycle-bearing side arms by smaller units, such as hydroxy groups, on the binding capability. The design of this type of receptor was inspired by the participation of the side chain hydroxy group of serine and threonine in the biorecognition of carbohydrates. Such structural modifications enable the recognition of structure-activity relationships, which are of high importance in the development of carbohydrate receptors with predictable binding strength and selectivity.

Due to the problems with the exact prediction of the binding properties of an artificial carbohydrate receptor, the identification of characteristic structural features, having the ability to influence the binding properties in a predictable way, is of high importance. The purpose of our investigation was to examine whether the previously observed higher affinity of 2-aminopyrimidine-bearing carbohydrate receptors in comparison with aminopyridine substituted analogues represents a general tendency of aminopyrimidine-bearing compounds. Systematic binding studies on new compounds consisting of 2-aminopyrimidine groups confirmed such a tendency and allowed the identification of interesting structure-activity relationships. Receptors having different symmetries showed systematic preferences for specific glycosides, which are remarkable for such simple receptor systems. Particularly suitable receptor architectures for the recognition of selected glycosides were identified and represent a valuable base for further developments in this field.

The aim of the study was to evaluate the potential of trimethoxybenzene- and trimethylbenzene-based compounds bearing imidazole or indole groups as recognition sites in the complexation of carbohydrates. Representatives of these compounds were prepared and their binding properties toward selected carbohydrates evaluated. The results of the binding studies were compared with those obtained for the prepared pyrrole bearing analogues and for the previously described triethylbenzene-based receptors.

The bridge-substituted calix[4]arene carboxylic acid, 5,11,17,23-tetra-tert-butyl-25,26,27,28-tetramethoxy-calix[4]arene-2-carboxylic acid (1), can be readily converted to various esters 2-4 and reduced to the alcohol 5, which reacts with methyl iodide to give the ether 6. The alcohol can be dansylated to give 7, the fluorescence of which is selectively quenched by Cu(II) in acetonitrile. An attempt to convert the acid 1 to an amide resulted unexpectedly in the formation of a lactone 8. The conformational characteristics of 1-8 have been studied in solution and, in the cases of 2 and 4, in the solid state by determination of their single-crystal X-ray structures. With the exception of 8, in all these compounds the bridge substituent adopts an equatorial (lateral) orientation.

A series of new fluorescent calix[4]arenes (2-7; 5 has been isolated as two not yet described conformational isomers) featuring two directly lower rim attached dansyl moieties besides other lower or upper rim site substituents have been synthesized and investigated with reference to their fluorescence properties including potential sensing capability for metal ions. Except for the nitro substituted compound 7, which showed a moderate fluorescence quenching on the addition of Hg2+ in acetonitrile, the calixarenes 2-6 were found to selectively recognize Cu2+ in the 10(-6) mol L(-1) concentration range detectable by the nearly total quenching of their intrinsic fluorescence. Using fluorescence titration experiments, the ideal complexation ratio [metal ion]/[ligand] for three exemplarily investigated calixarenes (3, 5a and 7) was determined to be 2:1. For 5a, a new red shifted signal was observed by the complexation of Cu2+ while the addition of Hg2+ only yields a moderate quenching of the parent signal, indicating a different binding mode for both metal ions. This finding enables the calixarene 5a to be used as a suitable chemosensor for the simultaneous determination of copper and mercury. In this paper we also present the first crystal structures of dansylated calixarenes having the dansyl groups directly attached to the lower rim site. They involve the unsolvated calixarene 5b and the two solvent inclusion compounds 2.CH2(OH)CN and 3.3CH3CN, each showing an extensive pattern of non-covalent interactions. In both solvates, the calixarenes are fixed in a cone conformation while the unsolvated calixarene 5b adopts the partial cone conformation. A solution 1H NMR study in CDCl3 reveals also the cone conformation for all dansylated calixarenes, except the more conformationally flexible upper rim unsubstituted calixarene 5 which showed cone and partial cone conformers 5a and 5b, respectively, in an approximate 2:3 ratio.

Being aimed at a new type of porous solids, a moduled design strategy of molecular tectons, making use of the conjugation between a shape defined artificial backbone and the bioinspired molecular fragments of nucleobases or nucleobase derivatives as functional end-caps, has been developed. This led to the formation of the new hybrid compounds 1-13 of linear and tetrahedral geometry, containing uracil, adenine, adenosine, guanosine and its acylated analogs as the sticky end-cap sites. The compounds were synthesized from a halogen or ethynyl substituted nucleobase component and the corresponding ethynylated spacer unit following a metal assisted coupling process as the key reaction step. X-Ray crystal structure analysis demonstrates that the parent compound 1 is a solvent complex with DMSO (1:2), showing the DMSO molecules incorporated in a hydrogen bonded layer structure. Specific dependencies of the fluorescence properties of the new compounds in solution on the structure of the molecules are reported. A selection of solid compounds has been studied in respect of their ability to adsorb organic vapours. They revealed significant differences both in the sorption capacity and the selectivity towards particular solvent vapours.

Based on the principle of supramolecular preorganization, a new type of oligofunctional amphiphile, of which compounds 1-4 are representative structures, has been designed and synthesized. The typical feature of their structure is a highly rigid and geometrically well-defined central unit composed of ethynylene substituted aromatic spacers with different numbers of amphiphilic segment groups (also of a rigid geometric design) attached to it. The molecules form well-defined Langmuir films when spread from a solution at the air/water interface or when a 10(-4) M aqueous CaCl2 solution was used as the subphase. By analysis of the surface pressure-surface area (pi-A) isotherms, information on the packing behavior and orientation of the amphiphilic molecules depending on the molecular structure could be obtained. Morphological characterization of the dynamic process of monolayer compression at the air/water interface was carried out by Brewster angle microscopy, illustrating several phase states visualized as snap shots. Thin monolayer films produced on a 10(-4) M aqueous CaCl2 subphase can be transferred to a mica solid support by the Langmuir-Blodgett technique. Tapping mode atomic force microscopy reveals a surface topography of the monofilms composed of 1 and 3 that differ in roughness and also in the properties of elasticity, hardness and adhesive strength. X-Ray crystal structure analysis of three relevant intermediate compounds of the synthesis were successfully determined giving an indication of the potential structural features inherent in the new amphiphiles.