Abstract : A molecular switch built with cucurbit[7]uril and a 3-station viologen-phenylene-imidazole compound exhibited pH actuated ring translocation with high fatigue resistance (up to 10(2) cycles). The switch movement was harnessed toward selectively masking the toxicity of the viologen fragment at neutral pH near non-cancerous cells, while exposing it at acid pH near cancer cells.
Qian Cheng, Hang Yin, Roselyne Rosas, Didier Gigmes, Olivier Ouari, et al.. A pH-driven ring translocation switch against cancer cells. Chemical Communications, Royal Society of Chemistry, 2018, 54 (98), pp.13825--13828. ⟨10.1039/c8cc08681h⟩. ⟨hal-02091869⟩