One-pot synthesis of cyclodextrin-based radial poly[n]catenanes

Abstract

Supermolecules such as rotaxanes and catenanes have recently attracted considerable attention due to their potential widespread applications in areas such as molecular machines and switches. Moreover, the development of polyrotaxanes and polycatenanes, comprising multiple cyclic compounds, has allowed the fabrication of structures with novel properties. Although rotaxanes and polyrotaxanes have been extensively prepared from cyclodextrins as building blocks, very few studies have considered the syntheses of cyclodextrin-based polycatenanes. Here we report the one-pot syntheses and isolation of cyclodextrin-based radial polycatenanes with large numbers of cyclic components (>10) attached to a poly(ethylene glycol)–poly(propylene glycol)–poly(ethylene glycol) copolymer core, with characterization performed using Raman spectroscopy, gel permeation chromatography, 1H-NMR spectroscopy, and other techniques. Overall, the results presented herein may be used to develop advanced supramolecular structures and materials, such as molecular machines, molecular actuators, molecular switches, biomaterials, and drug carriers.