Supramolecular barrels from amphiphilic rigid-flexible macrocycles

An unusual example of supramolecular barrels in the solid and in aqueous solution, based on the self-assembly of amphiphilic rigid-flexible macrocycles driven by non-covalent interactions, was discussed. The polydispersity index of the macrocyclic molecules measured by gel-permeation chromatography with the use of polystyrene standards was less than 1.05. Preliminary experiments showed that these amphiphilic macrocycles are membrane-active. The results suggest that this class of self-assembling molecules may allow the design of a variety of well-defined organic nanostructures with biological functions.