molecular encapsulation of histamine h2-receptor antagonists by cucurbit[7]uril: an experimental and computational study

The histamine H2-receptor antagonists cimetidine, famotidine and nizatidine are individually encapsulated by macrocyclic cucurbit[7]uril (CB[7]), with binding affinities of 6.57 (±0.19) × 103 M−1, 1.30 (±0.27) × 104 M−1 and 1.05 (±0.33) × 105 M−1, respectively. These 1:1 host-guest inclusion complexes have been experimentally examined by 1H-NMR, UV-visible spectroscopic titrations (including Job plots), electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI-MS), and isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC), as well as theoretically by molecular dynamics (MD) computation. This study may provide important insights on the supramolecular formulation of H2-receptor antagonist drugs for potentially enhanced stability and controlled release based on different binding strengths of these host-guest complexes.