ITC and NMR analysis of the encapsulation of fatty acids within a water-soluble cavitand and its dimeric capsule

We report here NMR and Isothermal Titration Calorimetry studies of the binding of ionisable guests (carboxylate acids) to a deep-cavity cavitand. These studies reveal that the shortest guests favoured 1:1 complex formation, but the longer the alkyl chain the more the 2:1 host-guest capsule is favoured. For intermediate-sized guests, the equilibrium between these two states is controlled by pH; at low values the capsule containing the carboxylic acid guest is favoured, whereas as the pH is raised deprotonation of the guest favours the 1:1 complex. Interestingly, for one host-guest pair the energy required to decap the 2:1 capsular complex and form the 1:1 complex is sufficient to shift the pK(a) of the guest by 3-4 orders of magnitude (4.1-5.4kcalmol(-1)). The two largest guests examined form stable 2:1 capsules, with in both cases the guest adopting a relatively high energy J-shaped motif. Furthermore, these 2:1 complexes are sufficiently stable that at high pH guest deprotonation occurs without decapping of the capsule.