page_title: Foldamer
section_title: Abiotic
hierarchical_section_title: Foldamer / Common designs / Abiotic
caption_attribution_description: English: Folding and Coordination of an Oligopyrrole
context_page_description: In chemistry, a foldamer is a discrete chain molecule or oligomer that folds into a conformationally ordered state in solution. They are artificial molecules that mimic the ability of proteins, nucleic acids, and polysaccharides to fold into well-defined conformations, such as helices and β-sheets. The structure of a foldamer is stabilized by noncovalent interactions between nonadjacent monomers. Foldamers are studied with the main goal of designing large molecules with predictable structures. The study of foldamers is related to the themes of molecular self-assembly, molecular recognition, and host–guest chemistry.
context_section_description: Abiotic foldamers are again organic molecules designed to exhibit dynamic folding. They exploit one or a few known key intermolecular interactions, as optimized by their design. One example is oligopyrroles that organize upon binding anions like chloride through hydrogen bonding (see figure). Folding is induced in the presence of an anion: the polypyrrole groups have little conformational restriction otherwise.
caption: Folding and Coordination of an Oligopyrrole
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