A computational investigation of aromatic oligoamide foldamer binding to sugar molecules

Helical aromatic oligoamide foldamers (1a–c) with tunable lengths were computationally examined for their ability to bind selected sugars and sugar alcohols. These helices feature cylindrically shaped inner cavities lined with multiple inward-facing amide carbonyl oxygens acting as hydrogen-bond acceptors, enabling sugar binding via hydrogen bonding. Each of the helical foldamers has an overall dipole moment that increases with the length of the helix. The binding of a guest typically results in a reduction of the overall helix dipole moment within the complex, although there are several exceptions. The strength of host–guest interactions correlated positively with the number of hydrogen bonds formed. Longer helix 1c showed stronger interaction energies (up to −84.45 kcal mol⁻¹), particularly with disaccharides, while shorter helix 1a bound sugars more weakly due to fewer established hydrogen bonds. The helical hosts exhibit structural adaptibility upon binding guests, with host distortion upon binding decreased with increasing helix length. Despite reduced binding energies, the complexes retained binding capability in aqueous environments, demonstrating their viability for aqueous-phase applications. This study underscores the critical roles of helical length and dipole alignment in optimizing sugar binding, providing a theoretical foundation for designing synthetic receptors for sugars and sugar alcohols based on aromatic oligoamide foldamers.