Abstract: A series of molecules has been synthesized in which a functional group is buried inside an aromatic binding cleft. These novel compounds, called “molecular tweezers”, have a methyl ester (6a, 7-9a, loa), a carboxylic acid (6b, 9b, lob, 45), or a nitrile (50) in their clefts. Molecular tweezer 21 has a metal ligand, an annelated terpyridine, oriented toward the binding cleft. The structures of 7-10 have been determined either by X-ray analysis or by ...
