Effect of a photoswitchable rotaxane on membrane permeabilization across lipid compositions

• Udyogi N. K. Conthagamage,
• Lilia Lopez,
• Zuliah A. Abdulsalam and
• Víctor García-López

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 2498–2512, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.192

• ; membrane fluidity; membrane permeability; photoswitchable rotaxane; Introduction Lipid membranes play a vital role in biology by acting as protective barriers for cells and organelles while regulating the passage of substances. Additionally, their structure and dynamics influence the activity of membrane

• translocation across membranes [14]. Our group recently developed photoswitchable rotaxane 1, which differs from most reported designs that typically incorporate photoswitchable units into the axle [15]; in our rotaxane 1, the azobenzene photoswitches are incorporated into the macrocycle instead. We

Rotaxanes with integrated photoswitches: design principles, functional behavior, and emerging applications

• Jullyane Emi Matsushima,
• Khushbu,
• Zuliah Abdulsalam,
• Udyogi Navodya Kulathilaka Conthagamage and
• Víctor García-López

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 2345–2366, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.179

• modulated the co-conformation of the rotaxane. However, the folded geometry of the axle restricts long-range movement of the macrocycle. Therefore, the authors later reported a photoswitchable rotaxane with an unfolded molecular thread, achieved by modifying the stopper groups and adjusting the linker chain

Light-responsive rotaxane-based materials: inducing motion in the solid state

• Adrian Saura-Sanmartin

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2023, 19, 873–880, doi:10.3762/bjoc.19.64

• , photoswitchable rotaxane-based materials have shown very interesting machine-like operation modes, highlighting the macroscopic transport of iodomethane drops along an inclined gold surface caused by light-triggered variations in the polarophobicity of interlocked fumaramide-based films [30]. Another application