A ladder polysilane wrapped with amylose

A mixture of tricyclic ladder polysilane 1 and amylose, upon pH adjustment of aqueous media from very basic to neutral, affords a supramolecular complex in which a preferential twisted (helical) conformation is induced on the ladder polysilane to display optical activity. Under the experimental conditions used, 1 assumes a left-handed twisted structure in the left-handed helical channel of amylose.