CHAPTER 6: Interactions of Calix[n]arenes and Other Organic Supramolecular Systems with Proteins

The authors discuss how various proteins recognize, stabilize or are inhibited by organic supramolecular systems, with emphasis on the actions of the calix[n]arenes. The chapter is divided into two major sections, the first involving the soluble proteins and the second dealing with membrane proteins. The choice of dividing the topic as a function of the protein rather than the supramolecular system is intended to give a clearer overall view of the subject. Within each section the subject is further subdivided into groups of proteins. Thus for the soluble proteins: albumins, enzymes, proteins of the blood coagulation cascade, insulin, signal proteins, in particular the cancer marker histones, various proteins associated with neurodegenerative conditions such as Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease and antigens associated with cancer. In the second section the authors treat interactions with membrane proteins: transport proteins, peripheral proteins—particular cytochrome c, the ATP cassette transport proteins, and various lectins targeted for drug transport. A particularly short section concerns the multi-protein recognition studies with calix[n]arene membrane-integrated sensors.