Proline-based tripodal cages with guest-adaptive features for capturing hydrophilic and amphiphilic fluoride substances

Bo Huang, Sihao Li, Cong Pan, Fangzhou Li, Lukasz Wojtas, Qiao Qiao, Timothy H. Tran, Laurent Calcul, Wenqi Liu, Chenfeng Ke () and Jianfeng Cai ()
Additional contact information
Bo Huang: University of South Florida
Sihao Li: University of South Florida
Cong Pan: University of South Florida
Fangzhou Li: Washington University
Lukasz Wojtas: University of South Florida
Qiao Qiao: University of South Florida
Timothy H. Tran: Moffitt Cancer Center
Laurent Calcul: University of South Florida
Wenqi Liu: University of South Florida
Chenfeng Ke: Washington University
Jianfeng Cai: University of South Florida

Nature Communications, 2025, vol. 16, issue 1, 1-12

Abstract: Abstract Proteins exhibit remarkable molecular recognition by dynamically adjusting their conformations to selectively interact with ligands at specialized binding sites. To bind hydrated ligands, proteins leverage amino acid residues with similar water affinities as the substrate, minimizing the energy required to strip water molecules from the hydrophilic substrates. In synthetic receptor design, replicating this sophisticated adaptability remains a challenge, as most artificial receptors are optimized to bind desolvated substances. Here, we show that proline-based synthetic receptors can mimic the conformational dynamics of proteins to achieve selective binding of hydrophilic and amphiphilic fluoride substances in aqueous environments. This finding highlights the critical role of receptor flexibility and strategic hydrophilicity in enhancing ligand recognition and affinity in water. Moreover, it establishes a new framework for designing versatile synthetic receptors with tunable hydrophobicity and hydrophilicity profiles.

Date: 2025
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-025-58589-6 Abstract (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:nat:natcom:v:16:y:2025:i:1:d:10.1038_s41467-025-58589-6

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
https://www.nature.com/ncomms/

DOI: 10.1038/s41467-025-58589-6

Access Statistics for this article

Nature Communications is currently edited by Nathalie Le Bot, Enda Bergin and Fiona Gillespie

More articles in Nature Communications from Nature
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Sonal Shukla () and Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing ().