Applications Of Supramolecular Chemistry

Applications of Supramolecular Chemistry introduces the use of non-covalent interactions and molecular recognition for many fields. Applications include the analysis of technically, medically, and environmentally important chemical compounds, their separation, purification and removal, and the design of new materials, including supramolecular electronics. The book also explores biological interactions and applications in the food and textile industries.

The fundamentals of "supramolecular chemistry" to the latest developments on the subject are covered by this book. It sets out to explain the topic in a relatively easy way. The basic concepts of molecular recognition chemistry are included. Molecules with fascinating shapes and functions such as fullerenes, carbon nanotubes, dendrimers, rotaxane, and catenane, and molecular assemblies are also explained. Thereafter applications of supermolecules to nanotechnology are introduced with many examples of molecular devices. The last part of the book describes biological supermolecules and their mimics. Though simply explained undergraduate and graduate students in Chemistry will be able to use aspects of this work as an advanced textbook.

The aim of this book is to return to the biomimicry and medicinal potential that inspired many of the early supramolecular chemists and to set it in the context of current advances in the field. Following an overview of supramolecular chemistry, the first section considers the efforts made to synthesize artificial systems that mimic biological entities. The second section addresses the application of supramolecular principles to molecular diagnostics with a particular emphasis on the ‘receptor-relayreporter’ motif. Many of the examples chosen have clinical importance. The third section takes the clinical diagnostic theme further and demonstrates the therapeutic applications of supramolecular chemistry through photodynamic therapy, drug delivery, and the potential for synthetic peptides to form antibiotic tubes. The short epilogue considers the potential for supramolecular solutions to be found for further challenges in biomimetic and therapeutic chemistry.

Building on decades of “host-guest” research, recent years have seen a surge of activity in water-soluble supramolecular receptors for protein recognition and assembly. Progress has been particularly rich in the area of calixarenes, cucurbiturils and molecular tweezers. Emerging applications include controlled protein assembly in solution, crystal engineering, supramolecular control of catalysis (both in vitro and in vivo), as well as novel mechanisms of protein-interaction inhibition with relevance to amyloids and disease. One challenge at the interface of supramolecular chemistry and protein science is to increase interaction and collaboration between chemists and biochemists/structural biologists.This book addresses the exciting interface of supramolecular chemistry and protein science. Chapters cover supramolecular approaches to protein recognition, assembly and regulation. Principles outlined will highlight the opportunities that are readily accessible to collaborating chemists and biochemists, enriching the breadth and scope of this multidisciplinary field. Supramolecular Protein Chemistry will be of particular interest to graduate students and researchers working in supramolecular chemistry, protein science, self-assembly, biomaterials, biomedicine and biotechnology.

Supramolecular chemistry provides ingenious strategies for the elaboration of functional systems from readily available molecular components. These methodologies have been used for the development of sensors, catalysts, energy or electron transfer systems, agents for photodynamic therapy and so forth. This book reviews the chemistry, types and applications of supramolecular systems. Chapter One discusses the design and applications of supramolecular systems based on (thia)calixarene ammonium derivatives. Chapter Two gives an overview of the methods of stabilisation of the elusive bare {V6O19} structure by different capping moieties and substituents, illustrates the main synthetic strategies toward the formation of fully-oxidised {VV6}, mixed-valence {VV/VI6}, and fully reduced {VIV6} trisalkoxohexavanadates, describes bis-(trisalkoxo)hexavanadates obtained by post-functionalisation reactions, and details their reactivity towards transition metals and lanthanoid complexes. Chapter Three emphasises the suitability of supramolecular interactions to provide porous materials which have been called Supramolecular Metal-Organic Frameworks (SMOFs). Chapter Four discusses self-assembly of porphyrins in the context of its relevance to photosynthesis.

There have been many great advances in the field of biomedical imaging in recent years, with supramolecular chemistry playing a key role in the evolution of modern imaging techniques. Non-covalent supramolecular interactions are fundamental to countless biological processes, from host–guest binding to the stabilisation of complex structures. Supramolecular chemistry techniques can be employed to create probes that can be targeted to either exploit or disrupt these interactions, giving the potential for both diagnostic and therapeutic effects. Furthermore, in techniques such as contrast enhanced MRI, controlling the interactions between solvent molecules and the imaging agent is crucial to the development of the technique. With rapid growth in the synthesis and study of molecular imaging agents, the understanding of their associated techniques has sometimes lagged behind. Supramolecular Chemistry in Biomedical Imaging will fill this gap by clarifying the state of current understanding and the nature of the underlying problems inherent to addressing problems in biology. It will cover both the techniques used in imaging and the molecular and supramolecular systems used to exploit them. This publication targets academics coming to the field from mainstream supramolecular chemistry, research graduates and undergraduates interested in supramolecular chemistry, synthesis or imaging agents and imaging techniques for biomedical applications.

This book is an excellent introduction to supramolecular chemistry, explaining how molecules can be arranged to more complex chemical systems through non-covalent interactions and what makes supramolecular architectures stable. Starting with the principles of molecular recognition and supramolecular receptors, the author further gives an overview of different supramolecular systems and methods for their synthesis.

This contributed volume applies the insights of supramolecular chemistry to biomedical applications such as ions/water transport through nano-scale channels, gene therapy, tissue engineering and drug delivery, to cite some of the major investigations.The challenge is to understand the mechanisms of transport through tissues particularly in the therapeutic treatment of a disease where the active drug must be delivered directly to diseased cells without affecting healthy cells. As a result, smaller quantities of active substances can be used to treat the disease. Another interest concerns new ways to administer gene therapy. If genes are often delivered to their target cells by adapted viruses, the supramolecular non-viral ‘vectors’ using dynamic nano-frameworks and nano-structures are presented. In addition, it is important to reconstruct damaged tissues by mimicking natural processes in cells and polymers, such as tissue engineering and self-healing. Different options are here discussed: e.g. hydrogels based on chitosan, a carbohydrate polymer, are proving especially promising for tissue engineering and drug delivery. For controlled delivery of drugs or other biologically active compounds, hydrogels sensitive to the most important stimuli in the human body, such as temperature, pH, ionic strength, glucose and biomolecules released by the organism in pathological conditions have been developed. Finally, to assist and validate the experimental studies, computer modelling and simulations of large-sized molecular structures and systems using different molecular dynamics and quantum mechanical techniques are developed based on the experimental and chemistry synthesis. This book is of great interest for graduate students, researchers and health professionals interested in acquiring a better understanding of the mechanisms of medical treatments. In addition, it provides numerous tools to develop better therapies for human diseases.