Supramolecular Chemistry: A Tale of a Container & Novel Proposed Materials for Biomedical and Material Applications

Supramolecular chemistry has evolved from the molecular chemistry over the years as the science of “chemistry beyond the molecule”. Molecules are held-together by intermolecular non-covalent interactions in a supramolecular assembly. In this seminar, I will talk about a new water-soluble synthetic supramolecular host named as "octa acid" (OA) as a reaction cavity for manipulating photochemical and photophysical properties of organic molecules. Most of the guest molecules are enclosed within a capsule made of two OA molecules. The interior of OA capsule is benzene-like nonpolar despite the complex being present in water. Additionally, the confined guests are not isolated but can communicate with molecules present in solution. This part will be discussed with photoinduced electron transfer from the donor incarcerated within OA-capsule to the acceptor free in solution as well as to TiO₂ semiconductor.

In the second part, I will propose a novel “support-free iterative” strategy to build a new class of functionally-controlled architecturally diverse macromolecules. With this strategy, I will discuss how we, as chemists, can create functional materials in a rapid, scalable and economic way for diverse biomedical and material applications. In addition, design of a unique supramolecule-based functional devise will be proposed for advanced applications.