Programmable Assembly of Multi-Stranded Helices in Water
Fabien Cougnon
Establishing straightforward relationships between the chemical composition of simple molecular building blocks and their ability to assemble into specific three-dimensional structures is essential to the development of functional supramolecular systems. Here we demonstrate that the primary sequence of oligo(m-phenylene ethylene) strands composed of phenylene and pyridinium residues predictably translates into the assembly of multi-stranded helices in water. The sequence of these strands can be designed to yield either one (static regime) or several (dynamic regime) types of multi-stranded helices. In the latter case, the relative ratio between different types of helices can be controlled by changing the experimental conditions or adding guests. Indeed, these helices possess tubular pockets suitable for the capture of hydrophobic guests such as perfluorobutane sulfonate, a persistent pollutant listed by the European Chemicals Agency as a substance of very high concern for the environment. Overall, this study provides a robust starting point for the rational design of sophisticated multi-stranded helical architectures able, like proteins, to respond to the addition of small organic molecules and environmental changes.
