A simple assay for quality binders to cucurbiturils

Julián Vázquez; Patricia Remón; Roy N Dsouza; Alexandra I Lazar; Jesús F Arteaga; Werner M Nau; Uwe Pischel

doi:10.1002/chem.201403405

A simple assay for quality binders to cucurbiturils

Chemistry. 2014 Aug 4;20(32):9897-901. doi: 10.1002/chem.201403405. Epub 2014 Jul 7.

Authors

Julián Vázquez¹, Patricia Remón, Roy N Dsouza, Alexandra I Lazar, Jesús F Arteaga, Werner M Nau, Uwe Pischel

Affiliation

¹ CIQSO - Center for Research in Sustainable Chemistry and Department of Chemical Engineering, Physical Chemistry, and Organic Chemistry, University of Huelva, Campus de El Carmen s/n, 21071 Huelva (Spain), Fax: (+34) 959 21 99 83.

PMID: 25043661
DOI: 10.1002/chem.201403405

Abstract

A new approach towards the rapid identification of quality binders to cucurbiturils--those that combine high affinity with high selectivity for a particular homologue--was developed. The assay exploits macrocycle-specific optical fingerprints (colorimetric or fluorimetric) of carefully selected indicators dyes. The screening of a guest library revealed known (e.g., adamantane derivatives) and new (e.g., terpenes) quality binders. The predictive power of the assay was underpinned by the modeling of the involved thermodynamic equilibria.

Keywords: cucurbiturils; fluorescence; host-guest systems; macrocycles; sensors.