Newly synthesized zinc phthalocyanine bearing sixteen quaternized imidazolyl moieties on the periphery displays high water-solubility, lack of aggregation and high singlet oxygen quantum yield in water (ΦΔ > 0.33). The in vitro tests indicated excellent anticancer photodynamic activity (EC50 = 36.7 nM) and low dark toxicity to non-cancerous cells (TC50 = 395 μM).

Metalloporphyrins which form the core of many bioenzymes and natural light harvesting or electron transport systems, exhibit a variety of selective functional properties depending on the state and surroundings with which they exist in biological systems. The specificity and ease with which they function in each of their bio-functions appear to be largely governed by the nature and disposition of the protein globule around the porphyrin reaction center. Synthetic porphyrin frameworks confined within or around a pre-organized molecular entity like the protein network in natural systems have attracted considerable attraction, especially in the field of biomimetic reactions. At the same time a large number of macrocyclic oligomers such as calixarenes, resorcinarenes, spherands, cyclodextrins and crown ethers have been investigated in detail as efficient molecular receptors. These molecular receptors are synthetic host molecules with enclosed interiors, which are designed three dimensionally to ensure strong and precise molecular encapsulation/recognition. Due to their complex structures, enclosed guest molecules reside in an environment isolated from the outside and as a consequence, physical properties and chemical reactions specific to that environment in these guest species can be identified. The facile incorporation of such molecular receptors into the highly photoactive and catalytically efficient porphyrin framework allows for convenient design of useful molecular systems with unique structural and functional properties. Such systems have provided over the years attractive model systems for the study of various biological and chemical processes, and the design of new materials and molecular devices. This review focuses on the recent developments in the synthesis of porphyrin assemblies associated with cyclodextrins, calixarenes and resorcinarenes and their potential applications in the fields of molecular encapsulation/recognition, and chemical catalysis.

A pillar[5]arene-based linear supramolecular polymer mediated by guest halogen–halogen interactions (C–Br⋯Br–C) was studied in both the solution and solid states.

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Hydroxylated pillar[5]arene-based amphiphiles were synthesized by a co-cyclization strategy followed by catalytic hydrogenation. This approach unlocks the synthesis and the design of a wide range of structural manipulations to these amphiphilic pillararenes.

A chiral receptor was synthesized based on monohydroxy-functionalized pillar[5]arenes and its ability to discriminate alkyl aminium salts is demonstrated.

We herein report the preparation of constitutional isomers of pentahydroxy-functionalized pillar[5]arenes via the deprotection of their benzylated derivatives by catalytic hydrogenation. The structures of the obtained isomers were then established using single crystal X-ray diffraction. We also found that the yield distribution of the different constitutional isomers was dependent on the nature of the substitution, as revealed by HPLC analysis of the crude mixture. Finally, further characterization of the separated constitutional isomers indicated that they possess different melting points, NMR spectra, crystal structures, and stacking patterns in the solid state.

A new method for synthesizing hydroxy-functionalized pillar[5]arenes by catalytic hydrogenation to remove the benzyl protecting groups of a pillararene precursor has been employed.