1.D.76 The Reversible Photo-gated Acylhydrazone-containing Crown Ether Triad Transmembrane Channel (PAH-CET) Family.
Zhou et al. 2017 have prepared a crown ether triad containing acylhydrazone units. In solution, the triad can self-assemble linearly to form an organogel. UV light-induced E/Z isomerization of the C[double bond, length as m-dash]N bond of the acylhydrazone unit, and this endowed the assembly with photo-sensitivity. The triad is able to insert into lipid bilayers to form supramolecular transmembrane channels, which show transport selectivity for NH4+ over K+. The channels exhibit photo-gating properties. Transport via the channel could be reversibly switched off and on by irradiation with alternating 320 and 365 nm UV light as supported by conductance measurements (Zhou et al. 2017).