Dynamics of Small and Large Supramolecular Systems: From Cucurbit[7]uril to Serum Albumins

Organic Chemistry Seminar Series

Dynamics is an essential features of supramolecular systems that can be explored to achieve new chemical function not accessible with molecular systems. Guiding principles in the field have been to increase the complexity of various systems and to provide concepts and building blocks to achieve the bottom-up development of nanoscale systems. The development of kinetic methodology to study the fast dynamics involved in supramolecular systems will be described for host-guest complexes with increasing complexity. The host systems described are: (i) Cucurbit[n]urils, which are macrocyclic hosts that have shown much higher binding efficiencies than other macrocycles, (ii) bile salt aggregates that have two binding sites with different properties and (iii) serum albumins which have multiple binding sites and where photochirogenesis was shown to be most efficient for binding sites with moderate binding affinity.

For more information contact Prof. Laren Tolbert (404-894-4093).