Bile acid-based cage compounds with lipophilic outer shells and inner cavities.

The uniquely functionalized steroid-based cyclodimers 4, cis-5, and trans-5 have been synthesized and fully characterized.The cyclodimer 5, with a cis-trans ratio of 3:1, is obtained by coupling the terminal alkenes of two 4-pentenoate groups on a cyclodimer 4 via Grubbs' intramolecular ring-closing metathesis. The crystal structure shows cis-5 to be a cagelike cyclic oligomer bridged by the flexible oct-4-enedioate link.