Covalent organic frameworks (COFs) featuring chirality, stability, and function are of both fundamental and practical interest, but are yet challenging to achieve. Here we reported the metal-directed synthesis of two chiral COFs (CCOFs) by imine-condensations of enantiopure 1,2-diaminocyclohexane with C-symmetric trisalicylaldehydes having one or zero 3-tert-butyl group. Powder X-ray diffraction and modeling studies, together with pore size distribution analysis demonstrate that the Zn(salen)-based CCOFs possess a two-dimensional hexagonal grid network with AA stacking. Dramatic enhancement in the chemical stability toward acidic (1 M HCl) and basic (9 M NaOH) conditions was observed for the COF incorporated with tert-butyl groups on the pore walls compared to the nonalkylated analog. The Zn(salen) modules in the CCOFs allow for installing multivariate metals into the frameworks by postsynthetic metal exchange. The exchanged CCOFs maintain high crystallinity and porosity and can serve as efficient and recyclable heterogeneous catalysts for asymmetric cyanation of aldehydes, Diels-Alder reaction, alkene epoxidation, epoxide ring-opening, and related sequential reactions with up to 97% ee.

In spite of their great promise for enantioselective processes due to the rich host-guest chemistry, it remains a challenge to construct covalent organic frameworks (COFs) with chiral three-dimensional (3D) structures. Here we report bottom-up synthesis of the first example of 3D chiral COFs by imine condensation of an enantiopure 2-fold symmetric TADDOL-derived tetraaldehyde with a tetrahedral tetra(4-anilyl)methane. After postsynthetic oxidation of imine linkages, the framework is transformed into an amide-linked COF with retention of crystallinity and permanent porosity as well as enhanced chemical stability. The resultant isostructural COFs feature a 4-fold interpenetrated diamondoid open framework with tubular channels decorated with chiral dihydroxy auxiliaries. Both COFs can be used as chiral stationary phases for high performance liquid chromatography to enantioseparate racemic alcohols, and the oxidized COF shows superior separation performance compared to the pristine framework.

Synthetic control over chirality and function is the crowning achievement for metal-organic frameworks, but the same level of control has not been achieved for covalent organic frameworks (COFs). Here we demonstrate chiral COFs (CCOFs) can be crystallized from achiral organic precursors by chiral catalytic induction. A total of nine two-dimensional CCOFs are solvothermally prepared by imine condensations of the C3-symmetric 1,3,5-triformylphloroglucinol (Tp) with diamine or triamine linkers in the presence of catalytic amount of (R)- or (S)-1-phenylethylamine. Homochirality of these CCOFs results from chiral catalyst-induced immobilization of threefold-symmetric tris(N-salicylideneamine) cores with a propeller-like conformation of one single handedness during crystallization. The CCOF-TpTab showed high enantioselectivity toward chiral carbohydrates in fluorescence quenching and, after postsynthetic modification of enaminone groups located in chiral channels with Cu(II) ions, it can also be utilized as a heterogeneous catalyst for the asymmetric Henry reaction of nitroalkane with aldehydes.

Microporous covalent organic frameworks (COFs) hold great potential for small molecule separation but are yet challenging to design and synthesize. Here we report a framework interpenetration strategy to make microporous COFs for efficient separations of C8 alkyl-aromatic isomers. Two pairs of microporous three-dimensional (3D) salen- and Zn­(salen)-based COFs are prepared by Schiff-base condensation of ethanediamine with tetrahedral tetra­(salicylaldehyde)-silane or -methane derivatives in the presence or absence of metal ions. The four 3D COFs are isostructural and have a 7-fold interpenetrated diamondoid open framework with less than 8.0 Å wide tubular channels. They exhibit permanent porosity, high thermal stability, and good chemical resistance. The two COFs functionalized with uncoordinated salen groups can serve as stationary phases for high-performance liquid chromatography to provide baseline separation of xylene isomers and ethylbenzene with excellent column efficiency and precision, whereas the COFs with Zn­(salen) motifs cannot achieve high-resolution separation. The salen-COFs showed high affinity to the o-xylene, allowing fast and selective separation of the o-isomer from the other isomers within 7 min. This is the first report utilizing COFs to separate the practically important aromatic isomers. This work highlights new opportunities in designing microporous COFs and paves the way to expand the potential applications of COF materials.

Signal transducer and activator of transcription-3 (STAT3) is critical for cancer progression by regulating tumor cell survival, proliferation, and angiogenesis. Herein, we investigated the regulation of STAT3 activation and the therapeutic effects of Icaritin, a prenyl flavonoid derivative from Epimedium Genus, in renal cell carcinoma (RCC). Icaritin showed significant anti-tumor activity in the human and mouse RCC cell lines, 786-O and Renca, respectively. Icaritin inhibited both constitutive and IL-6-induced phospho-STAT3 (STAT3Y705) and reduced the level of STAT3-regulated proteins Bcl-xL, Mcl-1, Survivin, and CyclinD1 in a dose-dependent manner. Icaritin also inhibited activation of Janus-activated kinase-2 (JAK2), while it showed minimal effects on the activation of other key signaling pathways, including AKT and MAPK. Expression of the constitutively active form of STAT3 blocked Icaritin-induced apoptosis, while siRNA directed against STAT3 potentiated apoptosis. Finally, Icaritin significantly blunted RCC tumor growth in vivo, reduced STAT3 activation, and inhibited Bcl-xL and Cyclin E, as well as VEGF expression in tumors, which was associated with reduced tumor angiogenesis. Overall, these results suggest that Icaritin strongly inhibits STAT3 activation and is a potentially effective therapeutic option for the treatment of renal cell carcinoma.