Synthesis of polifunctional pseudopeptidic compounds : aplications in supramolecular chemistry

Abstract

Supramolecular chemistry may be defined as the “chemistry beyond the molecule”. It involves the study of new molecular systems in which the components are linked by noncovalent interactions. These non-covalent interactions include electrostatic interactions, hydrogen bonding, π-π interactions, van der Waals forces or hydrophobic effects. Originally supramolecular chemistry was defined in terms of the non-covalent interactions between a “host” and a “guest” molecule as highlighted in Figure 1, which illustrates the relationship between molecular and supramolecular chemistry in terms of structures. In biology, such interactions play an important role, being responsible for many processes, as are for example, signal transduction, selective transport of ions and small molecules across membranes, enzymatic reactions, etc. This area of chemistry was born four decades ago with Charles J. Pedersen, Jean-Marie Lehn and Donald J. Cram who received the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1987. This award was granted "for their development and use of molecules with structur-especific interactions of high selectivity". However, before the name of Supramolecular Chemistry was introduced by Lehn, some other authors had already worked and made interesting contributions to this field of chemistry. In 1873, Johannes van der Waals Diderik postulated the existence of intermolecular forces. Later, the Nobel prize, Hermann Emil Fischer suggested that enzyme-substrate interactions take the form of a "lock and key", the fundamental principle of molecular recognition and host-guest chemistry.