| Disclosed are studies on the design and synthesis of polycavitand nanocapsules and their encapsulation properties. In Chapter 1, a general overview about capsular molecules is presented. In Chapter 2, the synthesis, characterization and chiral guest recognition of chiral tetracavitand nanocapsules and chiral hemicarcerands are described. For tetracavitand nanocapsule 41a, a two-step enantiomerization process is discussed. In Chapter 3, the rational design and synthesis of giant nanocapsules, including octahedral and rhombicuboctahedral nanocapsules is discussed. These nanocapsules formed quantitatively from condensation reactions between deep cavitands and linear aromatic linkers. In Chapter 4, effective molarities (EMs) of a series of hemicarcerands and nanocapsules were measured. The results show that solvents and the linker rigidity play an important role in the formation of hemicarcerands and EMs of nanocapsules 23, 65a, 67a and 69 are mainly controlled by entropy. Furthermore, stepwise EMs of hemicarcerands 20b, 20d and 20g are discussed, too. In Chapter 5, the synthesis of hemicarcerands through liquid-assisted grinding (LAG) is described. Furthermore, encapsulation inside hemicarcerands 20b, 20d and 20g by grinding is discussed. In Chapter 6, water-soluble acylhydrazone rhombicuboctahedral nanocapsules were synthesized. Preliminary results of protein encapsulation are also presented. |
