Aromatic Anion Carrier via Self-Assembly with Imidazolium-Fused Aromatic Amphiphiles

The transport of anions across cell membranes is difficult because of the negatively charged outer surfaces of cell membranes. To overcome this limitation, herein, we report a system for transporting aromatic anions across cellular membranes via self-assembly using a synthetic imidazolium-fused aromatic amphiphile. The amphiphile with cationic and aromatic groups in close proximity to each other could interact with anionic pyranine via electrostatic and aromatic interactions to form supramolecular vesicles. Supramolecular vesicles based on the synthetic imidazolium-fused aromatic amphiphile and pyranine complex transport anionic aromatic pyranine across the membranes of live MCF-7 cells without cytotoxicity.