Anion transporters play a vital role in cellular processes and their dysregulation leads to a range of diseases such as cystic fibrosis, Bartter's syndrome and epilepsy. Synthetic chloride transporters are known to induce apoptosis in cancer cell lines. Herein, we report triamide macrocycles that are easily synthesized and externally functionalized by pendant membrane-permeable groups. Among a variety of chains appended onto the macrocycle scaffold, cholesterol is found to be the best with an EC value of 0.44 μM. The macrocycle is highly anion-selective and transports ions via an OH/X antiport mechanism. The macrocycle is an interesting scaffold for ion-transport as it is able to discriminate between various anions and shows a preference for SCN and Cl. Such anion-selective transporters are highly attractive model systems to study ion-transport mechanisms and could potentially be of high therapeutic value.

Pillar[n]arene, a new class of macrocycle was first introduced in the year 2008. Since then, it has gained much attention in supramolecular chemistry. The structural simplicity combined with its straightforward synthesis through one‐step reaction process paves the way to develop various functionalized materials. The electron‐rich cavities of pillar[n]arene attached to suitable functional groups have been extensively used for various applications. This report will be focused on the challenges to engineer pillar[n]arene scaffold to get functionalized materials, potential applications and their future scope.

A pyridine containing triamide macrocycle and its substituted analog have been synthesized in one pot from the corresponding monomer without the use of coupling reagents. The macrocycle can selectively bind chloride ions. The ease of synthesis and chloride-binding properties of the macrocycle make it a highly attractive scaffold for ion-encapsulation, ion-transport and water purification.

Protein pores that selectively transport ions across membranes are among nature's most efficient machines. The selectivity of these pores can be exploited for ion sensing and water purification. Since it is difficult to reconstitute membrane proteins in their active form for practical applications it is desirable to develop robust synthetic compounds that selectively transport ions across cell membranes. One can envision tuning the selectivity of pores by incorporating functional groups inside the pore. Readily accessible octapeptides containing (aminomethyl)benzoic acid and alanine are reported here that preferentially transport cations over halides across the lipid bilayer. Ion transport is hypothesized through pores formed by stable assemblies of the peptides. The aromatic ring(s) appear to be proximal to the pore and could be potentially utilized for functionalizing the pore interior.