Anion templated assembly of sensory luminescent rotaxanes and catenanes

化学家受到自然界基本生物过程的启发，产生和利用含有大腔的宿主，能够识别和选择性结合客体物种，以实现特定的生物功能。这种天然的主客体化学反应导致了通过实验室合成不太复杂的主体分子来模仿它，这些主体分子含有各种互补形状和大小的空腔，这些空腔被设计用于选择性地结合带电的客体物种。目前的兴趣集中在含有附加到宿主结构框架上或作为其组成部分的信号传导或报告基团的合成宿主分子上。这种具有光学活性报告基团的系统可以通过光化学响应（例如发光）感测结合的客体物质的存在。目标客体物种的选择性结合加上独特的信号响应对于未来分子传感器的发展至关重要。该项目旨在利用带负电荷的物质（阴离子）来模板化形成含有光活性（发光）中心的新型互锁分子。这样的分子结构，凭借其独特的三维拓扑互锁腔设计，有可能表现出前所未有的选择性阴离子识别和衍生的光学传感特性。与适当的锚定基团，强大的表面组装互锁光敏传感器设备也将被构建和极性有机溶剂和水介质中研究目标阴离子的选择性检测。

Chemists have been inspired by nature`s fundamental biological processes in generating and utilising large cavity-containing hosts, able to recognise and selectively bind guest species, for specific biological function. This natural host-guest chemistry has led to its imitation through laboratory synthesis of less complex host molecules containing cavities of various complementary shapes and sizes designed to selectively bind charged guest species. Intense current interest is being focused on synthetic host molecules that contain a signalling or reporter group appended to or an integral part of a host structural framework. Such systems, with an optically-active reporter group, can sense via a photochemical response (eg luminescence) the presence of a bound guest species. The selective binding of a target guest species coupled with a unique signal response is of paramount importance for the development of future molecular sensory devices. This project aims to exploit negatively charged species (anions) to template the formation of novel interlocked molecules which contain photo-active (luminescent) centres. Such molecular structures, by virtue of their unique three-dimensional topological interlocked cavity design, have the potential to exhibit unprecedented selective anion recognition and derived optical sensing characteristics. With appropriate anchoring groups, robust surface-assembled interlocked photoactive sensory devices will also be constructed and their selective detection of target anions investigated in both polar organic solvent and aqueous media.