Introducing Ligand-Based Hydrogen Bond Donors to a Receptor: Both Selectivity and Binding Affinity for Anion Recognition in Water Can Be Improved

Introducing hydrogen bond donors to a receptor was found to be an effective approach to improve both its selectivity and binding affinity for pyrophosphate in water. The crystal structure of Zn3–ADP complex showed the improvements come from the combination of H-bonding and metal coordination in a manner similar to many metalloenzymes.