SUPRAMOLECULAR CHEMISTRY OF CASCADE POLYMERS - CONSTRUCTION, MOLECULAR INCLUSION, AND INORGANIC CONNECTIVITY

The construction of cascade polymers with novel properties is discussed. A flexible amide-based cascade architecture facilitates changes of the molecular hydrodynamic radius as a function of environmental pH, provided that the periphery is coated with ionizable functional groups (e.g., carboxylic acids or amines). Thus, it is possible to expand or contract the internal void domains within these cascades. By extension of the heteroatom connectivity, we have prepared a novel multifunctional molecule possessing a predetermined spherical morphology, that utilizes a ruthenium(II) metal center coordinated to two different orthogonal 2,2':6',2 ''-terpyridine moieties to build the arm(s) of the cascade polymer. This technology permits the placement of multiple metal complexes at predetermined internal sites within the hydrophilic-surfaced Micellane(TM) framework. The combination of these two strategies to build cascade polymers allows the creation of an unsymmetrical bolaamphiphile constructed from two separate and distinct macromolecules. We are able to build cascade molecules either with a terpyridine unit inside or outside the polyamide sphere. The use of a connecting ruthenium(II) center allows the specific formation of a stable complex between the discrete cascade polymers.