FeII4L4 Tetrahedron Binds to Nonpaired DNA Bases.

A water-soluble self-assembled supramolecular FeII4L4 tetrahedron binds to single stranded DNA, mismatched DNA base pairs, and three-way DNA junctions. Binding of the coordination cage quenches fluorescent labels on the DNA strand, which provides an optical means to detect the interaction and allows the position of the binding site to be gauged with respect to the fluorescent label. Utilizing the quenching and binding properties of the coordination cage, we developed a simple and rapid detection method based on fluorescence quenching to detect unpaired bases in double-stranded DNA.The authors acknowledge support from the UK Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC EP/M008258/1, EPSRC EP/P027067/1, and EPSRC EP/L015978/1). This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under the Marie Sklodowska-Curie grant agreement No 64219

Hopping protons in supramolecular catalysis

Supramolecular catalysis can emulate many features of enzymatic transformations. Now, a complex proton wire mechanism — enabling the dual activation of a nucleophile and an electrophile through reciprocal proton transfer — has been shown to operate during the β-glycosylation of sugars within a self-assembled capsule

Guest Encapsulation within Surface-Adsorbed Self-Assembled Cages.

Coordination cages encapsulate a wide variety of guests in the solution state. This ability renders them useful for applications such as catalysis and the sequestration of precious materials. A simple and general method for the immobilization of coordination cages on alumina is reported. Cage loadings are quantified via adsorption isotherms and guest displacement assays demonstrate that the adsorbed cages retain the ability to encapsulate and separate guest and non-guest molecules. Finally, a system of two cages, adsorbed on to different regions of alumina, stabilizes and separates a pair of Diels-Alder reagents. The addition of a single competitive guest results in the controlled release of the reagents, thus triggering their reaction. This method of coordination cage immobilization on solid phases is envisaged to be applicable to the extensive library of reported cages, enabling new applications based upon selective solid-phase molecular encapsulation.UK Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC EP/P027067/1) , European Research Council (ERC 695009

FeII 4L4 tetrahedron binds and aggregates DNA G-quadruplexes.

Since the discovery of the G-quadruplex (G4) structure in telomeres in 1980s, studies have established the role it plays in various biological processes. Here we report binding between DNA G4 and a self-assembled tetrahedral metal-organic cage 1 and consequent formation of aggregates, whereby the cage protects the DNA G4 from cleavage by S1 nuclease. We monitor DNA-cage interaction using fluorescence spectroscopy, firstly by quenching of a fluorescent label appended to the 5' end of G4. Secondly, we detect the decrease in fluorescence of the G4-selective dyes thioflavin-T and Zn-PPIX bound to various DNA G4 sequences following the addition of cage 1. Our results demonstrate that 1 interacts with a wide range of G4s. Moreover, gel electrophoresis, circular dichroism and dynamic light scattering measurements establish the binding of 1 to G4 and indicate the formation of aggregate structures. Finally, we find that DNA G4 contained in an aggregate of cage 1 is protected from cleavage by S1 nuclease

Anion binding and transport properties of cyclic 2,6-bis(1,2,3-triazol-1-yl)pyridines

A series of cyclic 2,6-bis-(1,2,3-triazolyl)-pyridine anion receptors with thiourea functionalities were synthesized by click reaction of 2,6-diazidopyridine with protected propargylamine followed by condensation of a bisthiocyanate derivative with a series of diamines. Their chloride binding affinities as well as their transport properties in POPC bilayers were examined. These receptors were found to function as anion carriers, which can mediate both Cl(-)/NO3(-) antiport and H(+)/Cl(-) symport, and the transport activity of these hosts were dominated by their lipophilicity.crosscheck: This document is CrossCheck deposited related_data: Supplementary Information related_data: Crystal Structure Data identifier: Simon J. Coles (ORCID) identifier: Simon J. Coles (ResearcherID) identifier: Philip A. Gale (ORCID) identifier: Philip A. Gale (ResearcherID) copyright_licence: The Royal Society of Chemistry has an exclusive publication licence for this journal copyright_licence: This article is freely available. This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported Licence (CC BY 3.0) history: Received 21 October 2014; Accepted 17 November 2014; Advance Article published 1 December 2014; Version of Record published 27 January 2015status: publishe

Coordination cages as permanently porous ionic liquids.

Porous materials are widely used in industry for applications that include chemical separations and gas scrubbing. These materials are typically porous solids, although the liquid state can be easier to manipulate in industrial settings. The idea of combining the size and shape selectivity of porous domains with the fluidity of liquids is a promising one and porous liquids composed of functionalized organic cages have recently attracted attention. Here we describe an ionic-liquid, porous, tetrahedral coordination cage. Complementing the gas binding observed in other porous liquids, this material also encapsulates non-gaseous guests-shape and size selectivity was observed for a series of isomeric alcohols. Three gaseous chlorofluorocarbon guests, trichlorofluoromethane, dichlorodifluoromethane and chlorotrifluoromethane, were also shown to be taken up by the liquid coordination cage with an affinity that increased with their size. We hope that these findings will lead to the synthesis of other porous liquids whose guest-uptake properties may be tailored to fulfil specific functions.L.M., A.B.G., C.J.E.H., and A.T. acknowledge support from the UK Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC EP/P027067/1) and the European Research Council (ERC 695009). C.C.P. (EPSRC DTP grant EP/M508007/1) acknowledges the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council for funding. L.L. acknowledges an EPSRC Departmental Studentship. A.W. and A.R.S. acknowledge the National Centre for Research and Development for funding (LIDER/024/391/L-5/13/NCBR/2014 and PRELUDIUM UMO-2016/21/N/ST5/00851). T.D.B. would like to thank the Royal Society for a University Research Fellowship (UF150021), and for a Research Grant (RSG\R1\180395)

Planning a family

We have all either been asked or seen others asked: “So when are you going to have children?” — at family gatherings, as a casual aside by colleagues or even by complete strangers. There is societal judgement around having children, not having children, when to have children and how many children to have. Even if we put aside the recent US Supreme Court decision to overturn Roe v Wade, 1973 and with it remove long-held rights around access to abortion in the US, there are numerous other ways in which reproductive choices are becoming weaponized, and what may seem to some an innocuous question is racialized, gendered and loaded