Chiral Detection with Coordination Polymers

Abstract

Coordination polymers and metal-organic frameworks are prime candidates for general chemical sensing, but the use of these porous materials as chiral probes is still an emerging field. In the last decade, they have found application in a range of chiral analysis methods, including liquid-and gas-phase chromatography, circular dichroism spectroscopy, fluorescence sensing, and NMR spectroscopy. In this minireview, we examine recent works on coordination polymers as chiral sensors and their enantioselective hostguest chemistry, while highlighting their potential for application in different settings.

A chiral binaphthyl-based coordination polymer as an enantioselective fluorescence sensor

“…6 The loading of small guest compounds into the voids of MOFs is well-studied, but by using a chiral host framework, small chiral molecules can be incorporated in an enantioselective manner. 7 In this way, chiral CPs and MOFs could generate solid-state enantioselective sensing systems.…”

Pair of chiral 2D silver(i) enantiomers: chiral recognition of l- and d-histidine via differential pulse voltammetry

“…[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9] Research on the construction of chiral coordination networks for enantio-recognition of chiral molecules is a particularly hot issue. [10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18] In order to set-up an efficient system for enantio-recognition of various chiral compounds, a number of electrochemical techniques with attributes including high sensitivity, easy operation, fast speed, and low cost, have been employed. [19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28] Great efforts have been made to develop an effective chiral electrode surface by utilizing various chiral coordination networks for enantio-recognition of chiral amino acids.…”

Enantioselective chiral sorption of 1-phenylethanol by homochiral 1D coordination polymers

“…5,7,[8][9][10][11][12] A homochiral coordination polymer is required for enantioselective applications and there are three main routes to access these materials. [13][14][15] The most reliable method is to incorporate enantiopure chiral ligands, frequently derived from readily available chiral acids, into the synthesis. 13,14,16 It is also possible to use achiral ligands, but include chiral auxiliary species in the reaction mixture.…”

“…The first published studies using chiral coordination polymers as stationary phases for LC and GC were in 2007 and 2011, 18,26 respectively and chiral coordination polymers have also been tested for separation on smaller scales packed in cartridges or micropipette tips. 23,25 While chiral coordination polymers are not uncommon, 14,15,27 there are fewer for which their chiral separation properties have been tested, and fewer still for which the mechanism of the selectivity has been explored. Size selectivity has been reported in line with the kinetic diameters of the molecules and the channel diameters of the material.…”

“…This suggests that the chiral separation ability of the materials arose from surface effects, although separation under crude LC conditions was still achievable. 23 Although porous, three dimensional networks are typically the synthetic target of coordination polymers, and much of the applications testing has been done on these networks, 15,30 the reports mentioned above suggest that this is not a firm prerequisite for activity. While 1D coordination polymers have been tested for applications in catalysis, magnetism, and electronics, [31][32][33][34] to the best of our knowledge none have been used as solid supports for the resolution of chiral analytes.…”