Synthetic Approaches for the Nanoencapsulation of Fullerenes

C.   N.   Murthy; K.   E.   Geckeler

Abstract

Encapsulation of [60]fullerene by cyclic molecules like cyclodextrins and calixarenes has many different applications. One of the earliest among them was to enhance the solubility of [60]fullerene in both polar as well as non-polar solvents and this has had immense application potential in materials research and medicine. Molecular modeling studies are efficient tools to study the supramolecular structures and have the advantage of predicting the structures even before carrying out an experiment. Unlike the naturally occurring cyclodextrins that cannot be easily obtained by a totally synthetic procedure, calixarenes are the product of the condensation reactions between para-substituted phenols and formaldehyde. These bowl-shaped molecules have cavities that can hold metals as well as molecules and have been used to sequester metal ions. This review highlights the research done in the nanoencapsulation of fullerenes by cyclodextrins and calixarenes during the last decade and looks at the emerging trends in this area.

Keywords: Calixarenes, cyclodextrins, fullerene, macrocycle, nanoencapsulation, supramolecular