Foreword
As a result of the significant development of supramolecular chemistry, the Nobel
Prizes were awarded to supramolecular chemists in 1987 (Donald J. Cram, JeanMarie Lehn, Charles J. Pedersen) and 2016 (Jean-Pierre Sauvage, Sir J. Fraser
Stoddart, Bernard L. Feringa). Within the field of supramolecular chemistry there
is an increasing interest focused on the supramolecular assemblies based on macrocycles, including ionic crown ethers, ionic macrocyclic arenes, cyclodextrins,
cucurbiturils, etc., and these macrocycles are extensively used as not only excellent
receptors for molecular recognition but also convenient building blocks to construct
nanostructured functional materials, especially bioactive materials.
Looking back, many scientists made a solid foundation for the development of
macrocyclic supramolecular assembly. At the same time, we are also delighted to see
that a group of young chemists have grown and started to show their prominent
abilities in this area. These years witnessed a significant harvest in the macrocyclic
supramolecular chemistry. However, we believe that, with the joint efforts of all
supramolecular chemists, the exciting findings are only beginning to be discovered.
To further present these research achievements, Springer Nature decided to
publish the Handbook of Macrocyclic Supramolecular Assembly, and I was invited
to act as an editor of this handbook at the time of The 100th Anniversary of Nankai
University. The main purpose of the handbook is to provide educators, scientists, and
graduate and undergraduate students with a relatively comprehensive set of knowledge and recent developments covering macrocycle-based supramolecular chemistry, biochemistry, functional material, and nanotechnology. I wish that the publishing
of this handbook will be helpful to the chemists who are interested in the
v
As a result of the significant development of supramolecular chemistry, the Nobel
Prizes were awarded to supramolecular chemists in 1987 (Donald J. Cram, JeanMarie Lehn, Charles J. Pedersen) and 2016 (Jean-Pierre Sauvage, Sir J. Fraser
Stoddart, Bernard L. Feringa). Within the field of supramolecular chemistry there
is an increasing interest focused on the supramolecular assemblies based on macrocycles, including ionic crown ethers, ionic macrocyclic arenes, cyclodextrins,
cucurbiturils, etc., and these macrocycles are extensively used as not only excellent
receptors for molecular recognition but also convenient building blocks to construct
nanostructured functional materials, especially bioactive materials.
Looking back, many scientists made a solid foundation for the development of
macrocyclic supramolecular assembly. At the same time, we are also delighted to see
that a group of young chemists have grown and started to show their prominent
abilities in this area. These years witnessed a significant harvest in the macrocyclic
supramolecular chemistry. However, we believe that, with the joint efforts of all
supramolecular chemists, the exciting findings are only beginning to be discovered.
To further present these research achievements, Springer Nature decided to
publish the Handbook of Macrocyclic Supramolecular Assembly, and I was invited
to act as an editor of this handbook at the time of The 100th Anniversary of Nankai
University. The main purpose of the handbook is to provide educators, scientists, and
graduate and undergraduate students with a relatively comprehensive set of knowledge and recent developments covering macrocycle-based supramolecular chemistry, biochemistry, functional material, and nanotechnology. I wish that the publishing
of this handbook will be helpful to the chemists who are interested in the
v