Nature has ways of controlling chloride concentration in living organisms. Chloride channels are able to gate chloride movement in and out of cells. For instance, halorhodopsin utilizes photoisomerization of its chloride binding site to transport chloride across membranes. Combining inspiration from Nature and existing understanding of aryl-triazole based receptors, a light-driven aryl-triazole foldamer has been created that can bind and release chloride reversibly upon UV or Vis light irradiation. Herein, the components of the whole are modified to optimize the binding differential. The foldamer was (a) elongated to enforce more p-p interactions and (b) intramolecular hydrogen bonds were introduced to increase the stability differential between two photostates (trans, cis) of the foldamer. As a result of these changes, the differential increased as the foldamer length was increased and as the cooperative, intramolecular hydrogen bonds were added. 

Chloride binding and release: Honing up photoswitchable receptors by tuning the helical propensity of foldamers

246th National Meeting (2013)

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