With the support of the Macromolecular, Supramolecular and Nanochemistry Program of the Division of Chemistry, Professors François Gabbaï and Saranya Pullanchery of the Department of Chemistry at Texas A&M University will explore the potential of a novel group of compounds as anion transporters. The project will investigate how the accessibility of the anion binding sites in these compounds, their positioning, and their electronic characteristics influence anion transport across artificial models of biological lipidic membranes. Optical measurements will clarify how these transporters behave in the lipid membranes, both in the presence and absence of the anionic cargo. This interdisciplinary project will contribute to the education of graduate students while also providing opportunities for various outreach activities. Owing to their low steric profile and easily accessible binding sites, telluronium cations have emerged as promising platforms for anion binding chemistry. Aiming to establish the use of these systems for transporting anions across phospholipid bilayers, this project will first seek to understand the structural and electronic variations that influence transport, particularly in cases of chloride and trifluoracetate anions. In addition to monofunctional systems, the project will explore bis(tellurium) cations as bifunctional platforms adapted to the complexation and thus transport of the polyatomic trifluoracetate anion. The new telluronium-based transporters