报告题目：Making neutral molecular receptors for anion binding in water

报告人：吴欣教授, 厦门大学药学院

时间：2023年03月15日10:00

地点：卢嘉锡楼202报告厅

报告摘要：

Naturally occurring transmembrane proteins such as the sulfate binding proteins, phosphate binding proteins and ClC channels/transporters achieve high-to-modest affinity anion binding in water through multiple hydrogen bonding interactions from polar amino acid residues to the encapsulated anion within a hydrophobic protein microenvironment. In many of those biological systems, the bound anion is stabilised solely by dipole interactions (hydrogen bonds) without forming ion pairs with counterions in proximity. Creating synthetic systems to mimic the function of anion binding proteins is a key academic challenge in supramolecular chemistry. In water, most biologically relevant anions such as chloride, sulfate, phosphates and carboxylates are strongly hydrated. This imposes a large enthalpic penalty for a synthetic receptor to (partially) remove the anion hydration shell and bind an anion. A further energetic cost is incurred due to the high dielectric constant of water diminishing non-covalent interactions provided by a synthetic receptor. Unlike nature, the majority of synthetic anion receptors functioning in water are multiply charged metal complexes or polyammonium organic molecules, where strong Coulombic attractions underpin the success of these systems. In this talk, I will present our recent examples where anion binding in water or aqueous-organic mixed solvents was achieved by charge-neutral molecular receptors synthesised in 1-3 steps. References: [1] X. Wu, P. Wang, P. Turner, W. Lewis, O. Catal, D. S. Thomas, P. A. Gale*, Tetraurea macrocycles: aggregation-driven binding of chloride in aqueous solutions. Chem 2019, 5, 1210–1222. [2] X. Wu, J. R. Small, A. Cataldo, A. M. Withecombe, P. Turner, P. A. Gale*, Voltage-switchable HCl transport enabled by lipid headgroup-transporter interactions. Angew. Chem.Int. Ed., 2019, 58, 15142–15147. [3] X. Wu, P. Wang, W. Lewis, Y. B. Jiang, P. A. Gale*, Measuring anion binding at biomembrane interfaces. Nat. Commun. 2022, 13, 4623. [4] X. Wu*, J. K. Clegg, [2.2.2]Urea cryptand: an easily accessible neutral organic cage for anion binding in water, ChemRxiv 2022, DOI: 10.26434/chemrxiv-2022-vc1j9.

报告人简介：

吴欣，2011年毕业于厦门大学化学系，2016年毕业于南安普顿大学（导师：Philip Gale教授和江云宝教授）。2017-2021年于悉尼大学Philip Gale教授课题组任博士后。2022-2023年于昆士兰大学担任研究员。2023年加入厦门大学药学院任药物化学方向教授。曾获2016年分子传感器&分子逻辑门会议AP de Silva 青年学者奖、2016年英国皇家化学会大环超分子化学组博士论文奖，承担2022年澳大利亚研究理事会优秀青年基金（ARC DECRA）。研究兴趣包括超分子化学、分子识别、大环化学、超分子聚合物、药物化学和吸附材料等。