Cholate-based synthesis of size-tunable cage compounds.

We describe cholate-based cage amphiphiles with a unique architecture that combines elements of structural rigidity and flexibility. The cage compounds are built by extending and bridging three polar chains underneath the concave steroid rings of cholate and capping with another rigid, symmetrically trifunctionalized cyanuric acid moiety. The connecting chains are varied to include, for instance, oligo(ethylene glycol) or chains containing 1,2,3-triazole units to present flexibility in the chemical and structural space and potentially deliver functional molecules for molecular recognition applications.