Preface

The basis of all living systems is, to an essential degree, nothing but supramolecular chemistry. Inspiration from nature has indeed always been a driving force for the development of host-guest chemistry. Previously, Emil Fischer’s lock-and-key proposal addressed the function of proteins and Friedrich Cramer’s early studies in the middle of the last century with cyclodextrin complexes were stimulated by the idea of biocatalytic models. Many functions in biological systems rely on non-covalent interactions, including, for instance, the actions of hormones, neurotransmitters, metabolites, nucleotides and, last but not least, drugs. Clearly, a book on the role of supramolecular chemistry in the life sciences cannot possibly encompass all these aspects, but must concentrate on the achievements reached with synthetic ligands interacting with biological systems. The scope of the book has not allowed the illustration of all aspects of non-covalent assemblies and, for instance, only mentions micelles, vesicles, etc. and drug design, for which there are also special books available. Nevertheless, the unlimited possibilities of using intermolecular interactions in living systems should become visible. After the foundations of supramolecular chemistry have been laid, practical applications become increasingly the focus of many researchers, particularly in fields which are in nature close to non-covalent interactions. At the same time, scientific contributions to societal needs are in demand, such as for health care, and this is also at the forefront of research focus.

The editor is most grateful to the authors that contributed to this monograph; he also appreciates their willingness to make compromises in view of space limitations and to take the editor’s suggestions into account. For any mistakes, the editor takes responsibility, whereas the hopeful success of the book goes to the credit of the chapter authors.

Hans-Jörg Schneider

Saarland University, Saarbrücken