Molecular Recognition of Azobenzene Dicarboxylates by Acridine-Based Receptor Molecules; Crystal Structure of the Supramolecular Inclusion Complex of trans-3,3′-Azobenzene Dicarboxylate with a Cyclo-bis-intercaland Receptor

The water soluble acyclic 1 and macrocyclic 2 receptor molecules, based on acridine units, form 1:1 complexes with the cis- or trans-2,2′ and 3,3′-azobenzene dicarboxylate substrates. The stability constants of these complexes, determined by 1H NMR spectroscopy, cover a wide range from 30 to 105M–1, thus displaying very pronounced structure selectivity with respect to both substitution pattern and cis, transconfiguration. The complexes of the cyclo-bis-intercaland receptor 2 are two or three orders of magnitude more stable than those of 1. The inclusion complex of cyclo-bis-intercaland 2 with trans-3,3′- azobenzene dicarboxylate has been isolated and its structure has been determined by X-ray crystallography using synchrotron radiation, confirming the intercalation of the substrate between the acridine residues in the species formed.