Construction of supramolecular polymers with alternating α-, β-cyclodextrin units using conformational change induced by competitive guests

Supramolecular polymers having alternating α- and β-cyclodextrin (CD) units have been prepared by using conformational change induced by competitive guests. Although each CD unit does not form intermolecular complexes, a mixture of an α-CD derivative and a β-CD derivative formed intermolecular complexes to give supramolecular polymers having alternating CD units. This is the first example of construction of supramolecular polymers with alternating α-, β-cyclodextrin units. Copyright © 2003 American Chemical Society.