Molecular Capsule Catalysis: Ready to Address Current Challenges in Synthetic Organic Chemistry?

Authors

  • Ivana Némethová Department of Chemistry, University of Basel, St. Johanns-Ring 19, CH-4056 Basel, Switzerland
  • Leonidas-Dimitrios Syntrivanis Department of Chemistry, University of Basel, St. Johanns-Ring 19, CH-4056 Basel, Switzerland; Department of Chemistry, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 600 South Mathews Ave., Urbana, IL 61801, USA
  • Konrad Tiefenbacher Department of Chemistry, University of Basel, St. Johanns-Ring 19, CH-4056 Basel, Switzerland; Department of Biosystems Science and Engineering, ETH Zurich, Mattenstrasse 26, CH-4058 Basel, Switzerland; , konrad.tiefenbacher@unibas.ch, Email: konrad.tiefenbacher@unibas.ch

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.2533/chimia.2020.561

PMID:

32778208

Keywords:

Catalysis, Cyclization, Host–guest chemistry, Molecular capsule, Supramolecular chemistry

Abstract

Self-assembled molecular capsules, host structures that form spontaneously when their building blocks are mixed, have been known since the 1990s. They share some basic similarities with enzyme pockets, as they feature defined hydrophobic binding pockets that are able to bind molecules of appropriate size and shape. The potential to utilize such host structures for catalysis has been explored since their discovery; however, applications that solve current challenges in synthetic organic chemistry have remained limited. In this short article, we discuss the challenges associated with the use of molecular capsules as catalysts, and highlight some recent applications of supramolecular capsules to overcome challenges in synthetic organic chemistry.

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Published

2020-08-12

How to Cite

[1]
I. Némethová, L.-D. Syntrivanis, K. Tiefenbacher, Chimia 2020, 74, 561, DOI: 10.2533/chimia.2020.561.