A spirocyclic backbone accesses new conformational space in an extended, dipole-stabilized foldamer.

Most aromatic foldamers adopt uniform secondary structures, offering limited potential for the exploration of conformational space and the formation of tertiary structures. Here we report the incorporation of spiro bis-lactams to allow controlled rotation of the backbone of an iteratively synthesised foldamer. This enables precise control of foldamer shape along two orthogonal directions, likened to the aeronautical yaw and roll axes. XRD, NMR and computational data suggest that homo-oligomers adopt an extended right-handed helix with a pitch of over 30 Å, approximately that of B-DNA. Compatibility with extant foldamers to form hetero-oligomers is demonstrated, allowing greater structural complexity and function in future hybrid foldamer designs.