‘Locking’ dendrimer conformation through metal coordination

Chiral intramolecularly hydrogen-bonded dendrons that fold into a dynamically biased helical conformation can be ‘locked’ in kinetically controlled conformations by coordination to copper(II) metal centers. Covalent bonding of each pyridine-2,6-dicarboxamide repeat unit of the dendrons to a copper metal center forces this subunit to exist in only the syn–syn conformation and dramatically rigidifies the dendron structure.