Allosteric effects are omnipresent in proteins and biomolecules, which are important for the metabolic regulation of organisms. Herein, we exhibit a facilely stepwise strategy to obtain a dynamically allosteric Ru-based metallo-amine cage (MOC-68) with excellent tolerance for harsh acid-base conditions. The total charge state of the cage can be regulated by changing the acidity or alkalinity of the solution to protonate or deprotonate the multiple proton donors and acceptors on the cage, hence further controlling its solubility and cavity shape. The abundant proton donors-acceptors and flexible amine vertexes on this tetrahedral cage furnish abundant hydrogen bonding sites and acid-base regulated backbones to control the binding and release of 8 water molecules, analogous to the relaxed-state (R-state) and tensed-state (T-state) in proteins, which provide the possibility for the cage allosteric effect and host-guest shifts from outside portals into inner cavity as well as the ring-on-cage sliding motion. This work broadens the possible behavioral modes of artificial supramolecular counterparts of proteins, and can be further applied in transportation and delivery as molecular machines in the future.

Robust protein-like metallo-amine cage with proton-driven dynamic nature

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