The self-assembly process of a Pd L cage complex consisting of rigid ditopic ligands, in which two 3-pyridyl groups are connected to a benzene ring through acetylene bonds and Pd ions was revealed by a recently developed quantitative analysis of self-assembly process (QASAP), with which the self-assembly process of coordination assemblies can be investigated by monitoring the evolution with time of the average composition of all the intermediates. QASAP revealed that the rate-determining steps of the cage formation are the intramolecular ligand exchanges in the final stage of the self-assembly: [Pd L Py* ] →[Pd L Py* ] +Py* and [Pd L Py* ] →[Pd L ] +Py* (Py*: 3-chloropyridine, which was used as a leaving ligand on the metal source). The energy barriers for the two reactions were determined to be 22.3 and 21.9 kcal mol , respectively. DFT calculations of the transition-state (TS) structures for the two steps indicated that the distortion of the trigonal-bipyramidal Pd center at the TS geometries increases the activation free energy of the two steps.

The effect of reaction environment on the self-assembly process of an octahedron-shaped PdL capsule was investigated. Quantitative analysis of self-assembly process with H NMR spectroscopy revealed that the self-assembly pathway of the capsule was altered by solvent and a leaving ligand coordinating to the metal source, which are not the components of the final self-assembly. Solvents definitively determine the pathway ofthe self-assembly at a very early stage of the self-assembly. Contrary to the expectation that the weaker the coordination ability of the leaving ligand is, the faster the formation of the final assembly becomes, a leaving ligand with weak coordination ability tends to generate a kinetically trapped species to prevent the capsule formation under mild conditions.

Proteins in hyperthermophiles exhibit extremely high thermal stability unlike general proteins. These thermostable proteins are stabilized by weak molecular interactions such as hydrogen bonding, charge interactions and van der Waals (vdW) interactions, along with the hydrophobic effect. An in-depth understanding of the stabilization mechanisms will enable us to rationally design artificial molecules with very high thermal stability. Here we show thermally stable supramolecular assemblies composed of six identical amphiphilic molecules having an indented hydrophobic surface, held together by weak intermolecular interactions (vdW and cation-π interactions) and the hydrophobic effect in water. The disassembly temperature of one of the assemblies is over 150°C, which is higher than that of the most hyperthermophilic protein reported to date (PhCutA1). Study of the relationship between the structure of the components and the stability of the assemblies indicates that the hyperthermostability is achieved only if all the weak interactions and the hydrophobic effect work cooperatively.

Gear-shaped amphiphile molecules (1) recently synthesized by Hiraoka et al. self-assemble into a hexameric structure, nanocubes (1), in 25% aqueous methanol due to a solvophobic effect. Here we have carried out molecular dynamic simulations to elucidate the stability of these hexameric capsules (1 and 2) in water, 25% aqueous methanol, and methanol. In all solvents, the 1 nanocubes are maintained for all trajectories. On the other hand, 2 was found to collapse for one trajectory in water and seven trajectories in 25% aqueous methanol. In a pure methanol solvent, 2 was found to collapse for all trajectories. The number of collapsed trajectories of 2 increased with the amount of methanol in the solvent. We therefore focused on the structure of the π-π stacking between pyridyl groups and the CH-π interactions between the methyl and pyridyl groups within the nanocube. Our study clearly shows the role played by the methanol solvent molecules in the assembly of the nanocube in terms of the substituent and solvent effects at the molecular level, and that these substituent and solvent effects are important for the self-assembly of the nanocubes.

A novel method for the semi-quantitative evaluation of molecular meshing in molecular complexes and assemblies (SAVPR: surface analysis with varying probe radii) is proposed. SAVPR revealed that the extremely high stability of hexameric assemblies (nanocubes) is due to tight molecular meshing between the components in the assemblies, indicating the importance of van der Waals interactions in hydrophobic molecular assemblies.