An imidazolate-bridged homodinuclear complex, {[Cu(L)(H
2O)]
2(im)}(ClO
4)
3 (
1), assembled with
-cyclodextrin (
CD) and its guanidinium-containing derivative (
GCD), and thus a helical inclusion complex, {[Cu(L)(H
2O)(
CD)]
2(im)}(ClO
4)
3 (
2), were successfully isolated and structurally characterized. Structural analysis showed that each Cu(II) ion has a distorted square pyramidal N
4O
w coordination sphere and forms a
chiral chain through hydrogen-bonding and hydrophobic interactions. The UV-vis data showed that such a chain can provide the imidazolate bridge additional stability and results in the dissociation equilibrium taking place at the physiological pH. The obtained IC
50 value for
2 (0.23
M) showed a high superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity, which corresponds to a highly stable imidazolate bridge. Interestingly, the guanidinium-containing
1/
GCD system showed higher SOD activity (IC
50 = 0.16
M), which is enhanced at least by 30% in comparison with that of guanidinium-lacking
2. This result supports that the positive guanidinium plays a role in the catalytic mechanism of Cu,Zn-SOD by ensuring that superoxide enters and peroxide leaves rapidly from the coordination sphere of the copper ion.