The field of ion transport has seen great advancements over the last decade, as potent ionophores have been increasingly explored as treatments for disease. Recent studies have developed small molecule K + and Na + transporters based on macrocycles such as crown ethers 2 and strapped calix [4]pyrrole moieties 3 within an amphiphilic organic scaffold. Such ionophores are recognised as potential therapeutics for the treatment of cancer, microbial infections as perturbing the ionic gradients within particular cellular environments can lead to apoptosis/ cell death or the restoration of ionic imbalances caused by native channel dysregulation.