Conclusion

The aims of this first article were to present the concepts and seminal work behind the spectacular development of supramolecular chemistry. The main non-covalent bonds underlying the formation and stability of supramolecular assemblies are described. Molecular recognition and its corollaries in chiral recognition and supramolecular catalysis were also discussed. By restricting our focus to host-guest chemistry, we have not tackled organized self-assemblies involving a large number of molecular entities and leading to structures such as micelles, vesicles, liquid crystals or supramolecular polymers. This is a field that offers access to new materials, many of whose properties have yet to be discovered.

Over the last fifty years, the field of molecular recognition has evolved remarkably. All the experimental and theoretical studies carried out in this field have...