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The field of molecular cages has attracted increasing interest in relation to the development of biological applications, as evidenced by the remarkable examples published in recent years. Two key factors have contributed to this achievement: First, the remarkable and adjustable host–guest chemical properties of molecular cages make them highly suitable for biological applications. This allows encapsulating therapeutic molecules to improve their properties. Second, significant advances have been made in synthetic methods to create water-soluble molecular cages. Achieving the necessary water solubility is a significant challenge, which in most cases requires specific chemical groups to overcome the inherent hydrophobic nature of the molecular cages which feature the organic components of the cage. This can be achieved by either incorporating water-solubilizing groups with negative/positive charges, polyethylene glycol chains, etc.; or by introducing charges directly into the cage structure itself. These synthetic strategies allow preparing water-soluble molecular cages for diverse biological applications, including cages’ anticancer activity, anticancer drug delivery, photodynamic therapy, and molecular recognition of biological molecules. In the review we describe selected examples that show the main concepts to achieve water solubility in molecular cages and some selected recent biological applications.

The templated clipping of a ferrocene-grafted isophthalic acid derivative to encircle a hydrogen-bonding axle through the reaction with 1,4-bis(aminomethyl)benzene is described. The constituent electroactive macrocycle of the resultant [2]rotaxane is a homologue of the versatile benchmark tetraamide variant developed by Leigh and co-workers. The relative templating effect of different hydrogen-bonding motifs in rotaxane and pseudorotaxane generation is compared, with yields varying from 0 to 41%. The electrochemical properties and single crystal X-ray structure of a doubly ferrocene-decorated [2]rotaxane are further reported.

Prolinamides are well-known organocatalysts for the HSiCl3 reduction of imines; however, custom design of catalysts is based on trial-and-error experiments. In this work, we have used a combination of computational calculations and experimental work, including kinetic analyses, to properly understand this process and to design optimized catalysts for the benchmark (E)-N-(1-phenylethylidene)aniline. The best results have been obtained with the amide derived from 4-methoxyaniline and the N-pivaloyl protected proline, for which the catalyzed process is almost 600 times faster than the uncatalyzed one. Mechanistic studies reveal that the formation of the component supramolecular complex catalyst-HSiCl3-substrate, involving hydrogen bonding breaking and costly conformational changes in the prolinamide, is an important step in the overall process.

El diseño molecular fundamentado en la imitación de las complejas estructuras y procesos que se encuentran en la naturaleza se conoce como Química bioinspirada o Química biomimética. Una de las aproximaciones utilizadas en esta disciplina es la preparación de compuestos seudopeptídicos macrocíclicos a partir de aminoácidos naturales y componentes abióticos. En la naturaleza existen proteínas con propiedades muy específicas y diversas. El uso de la información codificada en las cadenas laterales de los aminoácidos es un factor clave que, a su vez, puede utilizarse con ventaja para el diseño de seudopéptidos con propiedades específicas bien definidas. Por tanto, una selección apropiada de los componentes estructurales, naturales y no naturales, permite el diseño estructural adecuado para obtener la funcionalidad deseada.

A functionalized benzimidazole, 1-(4-nitrobenzyl)-3-allyl-1H-benzo[d]imidazol-2(3H)-one, has been synthesized, and the crystal structure was determined and analyzed. This compound crystallizes in the monoclinic, space group P21/n (number 14) c with cell parameters, a=7.12148(8) Å, b=16.12035(17) Å, c=13.04169(17) Å, β=93.3043(11), V=1494.71(3) Å3, and Dcalc = 1.375 g/mm3. The solid state geometry is stabilized by intermolecular π–π interactions along with the van der Waals interactions which contribute to the stability of the crystal packing. Computational calculations have been used to properly understand the main intermolecular interactions present in the crystal.

The crystal and molecular structure of 6-bromo-2-(furan-2-yl)-3-(prop-2-ynyl)-3H-imidazo[4,5-b]pyridine (C13H8BrN3O) has been investigated from single crystal X-ray diffraction data. The primary focus is to investigate the molecular geometry of this compound in the solid state along with the associated intermolecular hydrogen bonding and related π-π interactions present in the crystal packing. This compound crystallizes in the monoclinic space group P21/n with cell parameters: a = 4.39655(19) Å, b = 13.5720(5) Å, c = 20.0471(5) Å, β = 94.753(3), V = 1192.10(7) Å3, D = 1.683 g·cm−3, and Z = 4. The crystal structure is stabilized by π-π interactions and intermolecular C–H⋯N and C–H⋯O interactions.

Several kinetic models for the macrocyclization of a C2 pseudopeptide with a dihalide through a SN2 reaction have been developed. These models not only focus on the kinetic analysis of the main macrocyclization reaction, but also consider the competitive oligomerization/polymerization processes yielding undesired oligomeric/polymeric byproducts. The effect of anions has also been included in the kinetic models, as they can act as catalytic templates in the transition state reducing and stabilizing the transition state. The corresponding differential equation systems for each kinetic model can be solved numerically. Through a comprehensive analysis of these results, it is possible to obtain a better understanding of the different parameters that are involved in the macrocyclization reaction mechanism and to develop strategies for the optimization of the desired processes.