Other variations of cyanostar have also been made. Applications of cyanostar include anion sensors, formation of supramolecular selfassemblies, and supramolecular polymer formation. Cyanostar has been used as a dopant for polymer semi-conductors, and as the key structure-directing element in fluorescent materials called small-molecule, ionic isolation lattices (SMILES). Cyanostar was the first anion receptor to engage cyanostilbenes for the purpose of stabilizing anions with CH hydrogen bonds and others have now followed suit. The five cyanostilbene units in the cyanostar macrocycle are a result of Knoevenagel condensations that occur in a highyielding one-pot cyclo-oligomerization using the appropriate cyano-aldehyde monomer. The synthetic steps to produce this monomer, as well as the macrocyclization step, have been optimized