Template-directed synthesis of donor/acceptor [2]catenanes and [2]rotaxanes

Griffiths, Kirsten E.; Stoddart, J. Fraser

doi:10.1351/pac200880030485

Pure Appl. Chem., 2008, Vol. 80, No. 3, pp. 485-506

http://dx.doi.org/10.1351/pac200880030485

Template-directed synthesis of donor/acceptor [2]catenanes and [2]rotaxanes

Kirsten E. Griffiths and J. Fraser Stoddart

California NanoSystems Institute and Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California, Los Angeles, 405 Hilgard Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA

Abstract: The synthesis of mechanically interlocked molecular compounds has advanced by leaps and bounds since the early days of statistical methods and covalent-directing strategies. Template-directed synthesis has emerged as the method of choice for the construction of increasingly complex and functional [2]catenanes and [2]rotaxanes. In particular, mechanically interlocked molecules employing π-donating and π-accepting recognition units have been produced with remarkable efficiencies and show great promise in technologies as diverse as molecular electronics and drug delivery.