An amphiphilic[2]biphenyl-extended pillar[6]arene:Synthesis,controllable self-assembly in water and application in cell-imaging

Synthesis and functionalization of novel macrocyclic host molecules are important topics in supramolecular chemistry.In this work,the first amphiphilic[2]biphenyl-extended pillar[6]arene(AM-[2]BP-ExP6)was designed and synthesized with poly(ethylene glycol)chains as the hydrophilic tails and a rigid cavity as the hydrophobic core.Due to its amphiphilic nature,AM-[2]BP-ExP6 could self-assemble to stable fibers in water.What’s more,AM-[2]BP-ExP6 could associate with quaternary ammonium modified tetraphenylethylene guest(QTPE)to form a 2:1 host-guest complex,accompanied by significant enhanced fluorescence.Interestingly,different like AM-[2]BP-ExP6,AM-[2]BP-ExP6⊃QTPE host-guest complex selfassembled into fluorescent particles with diameter about 310 nm,the obtained fluorescent particles can be further employed in living cell imaging.