Light-Regulated Molecular Trafficking in a Synthetic Water-Soluble Host.

Cucurbit[8]uril (CB[8])-mediated complexation of a dicationic azobenzene in water allows for the light-controlled encapsulation of a variety of second guest compounds, including amino acids, dyes, and fragrance molecules. Such controlled guest sequestration inside the cavity of CB[8] enables the regulation of the thermally induced phase transition of poly(N-isopropylacrylamide)-which is not photosensitive-thus demonstrating the robustness and relevancy of the light-regulated CB[8] complexation.J.D.B. thanks Marie Curie IEF (project no. 273807). S.T.J.R. acknowledges the Cambridge Home and European Scholarship Scheme and the Robert Gardiner memorial scholarship. This work was supported by the EPSRC (reference no. EP/G060649/ 1), an ERC Starting Investigator Grant (project no. 240629), and a Next Generation Fellowship from the Walters-Kundert Foundation. The authors thank HECBioSim (EPSRC grant no. EP/L000253/1) via ARCHER, and the Ada King’s HPC3 service.This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from ACS Publications via http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/jacs.5b1164