Why supramolecular is important?
- A supramolecular approach has been used extensively to create artificial ion channels for the transport of sodium and potassium ions into and out of cells.
- Supramolecular chemistry is also important to the development of new pharmaceutical therapies by understanding the interactions at a drug binding site.
Introduction
- A supramolecular assembly is a complex of molecules held together by non covalent bonds.
- Colloids, liquid crystals, bimolecular condensates, micelles, liposome’s and biological membranes are examples of supramolecular assemblies.
- The dimensions of supramolecular assemblies can range from nanometers to micrometers
- The main objective of supramolecular chemistry is to design and develop novel functional systems by joining multiple chemical components through non-covalent interactions.
Supramolecular chemistry focuses on two partly cover areas,
- Supramolecules and
- Molecular assemblies.
i. Supramolecules
Supramolecule is a well-defined distinct system generated through interactions between a molecule (receptor or host) having convergent binding sites such as donor atoms, sites for the formation of hydrogen bonds and sizable cavity, and another molecule (analyze or guest) having divergent binding sites such as hydrogen bond acceptor atoms.
ii. Molecular assemblies.
- Molecular assemblies are produced by spontaneous self assembly of multiple components under the given set of conditions.
- The guiding force for the self assembling process originates from molecular binding events.
- Recently, self-assembly process has been utilized for generation of functional nano architectures of different shapes and morphologies