Molecular tweezers

Figure 1. Trinitrofluorene bound in molecular tweezers reported by Lehn and coworkers.[1]
Figure 2. A fullerene bound in a buckycatcher through aromatic stacking interactions.[2]

Molecular tweezers, and molecular clips, are host molecules with open cavities capable of binding guest molecules.[3] The open cavity of the molecular tweezers may bind guests using non-covalent bonding, which includes hydrogen bonding, metal coordination, hydrophobic forces, van der Waals forces, π–π interactions, and/or electrostatic effects. These complexes are a subset of macrocyclic molecular receptors and their structure is that the two "arms" that bind the guest molecule between them are only connected at one end leading to a certain flexibility of these receptor molecules (induced fit model).

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference lehn was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference sygula was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Hardouin-Lerouge, M.; Hudhomme, P.; Salle, M. (2011). "Molecular clips and tweezers hosting neutral guests" (PDF). Chemical Society Reviews. 40 (1): 30–43. doi:10.1039/B915145C. PMID 21038068.