@article {15871,
	title = {Photomodulation of ultrastable host{\textendash}guest complexes in water and their application in light-controlled steroid release},
	journal = {Organic Chemistry Frontiers},
	volume = {9},
	year = {2022},
	note = {n/a},
	month = {2022},
	pages = {4238 - 4249},
	publisher = {The Royal Society of Chemistry},
	abstract = {<p>The cucurbit[8]uril (CB8) synthetic receptor is shown to form high-affinity host{\textendash}guest complexes with dicationic dithienylethene (DTE) photoswitches in water. ITC experiments combined with computational studies suggest that the formation of the inclusion complexes is mainly driven by a combination of hydrophobic effects, ion{\textendash}dipole, hydrogen- and chalcogen-bonding interactions. The binding affinities were observed to be much higher for the DTE closed isomers, reaching values in the picomolar range (up to 1011 M-1) while the open isomers display up to 10 000-fold lower affinities, setting ideal conditions for the development of robust photoswitchable host{\textendash}guest complexes. The light-responsive affinity of these photoswitches toward CB8 was explored to control the encapsulation and release of nanomolar affinity steroids via competitive guest replacement.</p>
},
	url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1039/D2QO00423B},
	author = {Patr{\'\i}cia M{\'a}ximo and Cola{\c c}o, Miriam and Pauleta, Sofia R and Costa, Paulo J. and Pischel, Uwe and Parola, A Jorge and Bas{\'\i}lio, Nuno}
}
