The Molecular Recognition Boom: Host-Guest Chemistry

The recognition of a substrate by a molecular receptor is a matter of host-guest chemistry, based on steric and electronic complementarity between the two partners. The weak interactions involved in the formation of such complexes lead to a transfer of information (size, shape, interacting sites) ensuring the stability, selectivity and functionality of the supramolecular assembly. In coordination chemistry, ligands are receptors that form highly stable complexes with metal cations thanks to strong electrostatic interactions in an optimal geometric environment. In living systems, there are a multitude of receptors, one of whose functions is to transfer information between cells. Such is the case of membrane proteins, whose role as transducers is of great...