Chapter 2. Design and Synthesis of Synthetic Receptors for Biomolecule Recognition

Abstract

This chapter describes design concepts for synthetic receptors in supramolecular systems. The foundations of host:guest chemistry are first explored in the context of preorganization and complementarity, followed by discussions of the strength and solvent dependence of binding interactions. Reversible covalent interactions are then described, as are computational methods for predicting host:guest binding. Common synthetic receptor scaffolds such as crown ethers, calixarenes, calixpyrroles, cucurbiturils, and cyclodextrins are reviewed, and their binding properties are described. High-throughput methods, such as the design and use of combinatorial libraries and cross-reactive arrays, are detailed. Finally, thermodynamic concerns such as cooperativity and entropy–enthalpy compensation are discussed.