No abstract

Due to their biological importance, the complexation, sensing, and transport of anions are attracting increasing attention. 1,2 A variety of receptors based on the isophthalamide skeleton (e.g., 1 in Figure 1) have been studied, as these systems are easy to make and are effective anion receptors in organic solution. 3,4 Two strategies to improve the affinity and selectivity of anion receptors are to increase the acidity of hydrogen bond donors and/or to build more rigid scaffolds. The first strategy may, in some cases, result in deprotonation of the receptor by basic anions, 5 whereas the second strategy may require involved syntheses. We report here a host designed to have both enhanced hydrogen bond donor strength and conformational preorganization. Intramolecular hydrogen bonds make isophthalamide 2 a potent anion binder and an effective transmembrane transporter of Cl -.Experiment and calculations show that isophthalamides such as 1 prefer a syn-anti conformation about the 1,3-diamide unit. 6 As this conformation lacks convergent hydrogen bond donors, it is not optimal for anion binding. We reasoned that the -OH groups in 2 should form intramolecular hydrogen bonds with the amide carbonyls to stabilize the syn-syn conformation and favor the cleft needed for anion binding. 3 Compound 3 is a negative control, as its C4, C6-OMe groups should hydrogen bond with the N-H protons to stabilize the anti-anti conformation and preclude anion binding. Figure 2 shows solid-state structures for 2 and 3. 7 The majority of the molecules in the unit cell of 2 adopt a syn-syn conformation with intramolecular hydrogen bonds between the hydroxy and carbonyl groups (O‚‚‚O 2.55-2.57 Å). In this structure, two molecules of 2 in the syn-syn conformation bind the carbonyl oxygens of a third molecule of the receptor (Supporting Information). Compound 3 exists only in the anti-anti conformation. The amide and methoxy substituents are coplanar and involved in intramolecular hydrogen bonds (N‚‚‚O 2.67-2.68 Å). NMR data confirmed that these conformations for 2 and 3 also predominate in solution. In CD 3 CN, the 1 H NMR resonance for the OH protons in 2 was far downfield (δ 13.50), consistent with involvement in hydrogen bonding. Moreover, the chemical shift for the aromatic hydrogen between the amide side chains moved progressively downfield (δ 7.80, 8.18, and 8.70) in going from 2 to 1 to 3, reflecting an increasing preference for conformations wherein the hydrogen is syn to the deshielding carbonyls. The NMR signal for the N-H proton in dimethoxy 3 (δ 7.71) was shifted downfield relative to the N-H protons for 1 and 2 (δ 7.10), presumably due to involvement in intramolecular hydrogen bonds. This structural data indicated that 2 is predisposed toward a syn-syn orientation, whereas 3 favors an anti-anti orientation.Addition of Cl -, Br -, and I -anions to 1 and 2 in CD 3 CN resulted in downfield shifts of the N-H and H2 signals, whereas little change was observed for the O-H signal in 2. These data suggest that 1 and 2 bind anions wit...

The association constants Kb of three hosts I–III designed to have both enhanced hydrogen bonding donor strength and conformational preorganization with biotin analogues 1–5 are reported. 1H-NMR titrations under two different concentration conditions have been employed to determine the association constants Kb. A statistical analysis using a presence absence matrix has been applied to calculate the different contributions. Hydrogen bond interactions make naphthyridine derivatives II and III potent binders and effective receptors for (+)-biotin methyl ester (1), due to the complex stabilization by additional hydrogen bonds.