Control of chloride’s transport across the membrane is a challenging subject due to the intrinsic properties of the cellular membrane. An unbalanced transport of those anions can lead to a variety of diseases, such as cystic fibrosis. In most cases, insertion of synthetic transporters in the membrane can restore chloride’s transport by various mechanisms. Our main goal is to synthesize anion transporters, with high specificity towards chloride, whose self-assembly in the membrane bilayer is driven by supramolecular interactions. 2,4,7-Triphenylbenzimidazole derivatives bearing three pyridine or carboxylic acid groups were designed to penetrate and self-aggregate in phospholipid bilayers. Upon membrane insertion, these compounds can form organometallic complexes with free metal ions naturally present in biological systems, such as copper and iron. Those metallic complexes are opening new avenues in the possible geometry of active synthetic transporters.

Synthesis of 2,4,7-Triphenylbenzimidazole derivatives and their ion transport activity

ACS Spring Meeting 2021

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.