Preface
From the 1960s to the 1980s, Pedersen reported the discovery of crown ethers as host
molecules, Cram incorporated host-guest chemistry, and Lehn created supramolecular chemistry. From then on, supramolecular chemistry becomes one of the most
popular and fastest growing areas of chemistry, leading to numerous achievements in
molecular recognition, molecular assembly, molecular machine, and so on. Most of
these works are based on macrocyclic compounds, and these macrocycles act as
good receptors for molecular recognition and convenient building blocks for molecular assembly and molecular machine. Therefore, providing a comprehensive set of
knowledge on recent developments of macrocycle-based supramolecular system,
especially functional supramolecular assembly, to educators, scientists, and students
who are interested in supramolecular chemistry becomes necessary.
With this aim, Prof. Yu Liu, Prof. Yong Chen, and Prof. Heng-Yi Zhang from
Nankai University jointly edited a handbook of macrocyclic supramolecular assembly, which is now being published by Springer Nature. The handbook mainly
focuses on works in the field of macrocyclic supramolecular assemblies, with an
emphasis on their construction, structural characters, and biological functions. All 59
chapters of the handbook cover a wide variety of topics on macrocyclic supramolecular assemblies including: (1) construction and structure of macrocyclic supramolecular assembly (key building block, construction method, structural motif, and
stimuli responsive control); (2) approach and technology (controllable synthesis,
molecular recognition, spectral and thermodynamic study, supramolecular assembly
at interface, orthogonal self-assembly, supramolecular organic framework, molecular induced aggregation, theoretical calculation, and molecular simulation); (3)
application (chemical and biological sensing, theranostic tool, molecule/ion channel,
drug/gene delivery, supramolecule-assisted biomolecule production, supramoleculeassisted transmembrane transport, supramolecule-assisted immunity regulation, and
supramolecule-based medicinal drug.).
Each chapter in this handbook is written by active experts in the research field of
macrocyclic supramolecular assembly and has a high academic level. Together they
form a handbook that may become very important in the bibliography of supramolecular chemistry. I am glad to participate in this project by recommending this
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From the 1960s to the 1980s, Pedersen reported the discovery of crown ethers as host
molecules, Cram incorporated host-guest chemistry, and Lehn created supramolecular chemistry. From then on, supramolecular chemistry becomes one of the most
popular and fastest growing areas of chemistry, leading to numerous achievements in
molecular recognition, molecular assembly, molecular machine, and so on. Most of
these works are based on macrocyclic compounds, and these macrocycles act as
good receptors for molecular recognition and convenient building blocks for molecular assembly and molecular machine. Therefore, providing a comprehensive set of
knowledge on recent developments of macrocycle-based supramolecular system,
especially functional supramolecular assembly, to educators, scientists, and students
who are interested in supramolecular chemistry becomes necessary.
With this aim, Prof. Yu Liu, Prof. Yong Chen, and Prof. Heng-Yi Zhang from
Nankai University jointly edited a handbook of macrocyclic supramolecular assembly, which is now being published by Springer Nature. The handbook mainly
focuses on works in the field of macrocyclic supramolecular assemblies, with an
emphasis on their construction, structural characters, and biological functions. All 59
chapters of the handbook cover a wide variety of topics on macrocyclic supramolecular assemblies including: (1) construction and structure of macrocyclic supramolecular assembly (key building block, construction method, structural motif, and
stimuli responsive control); (2) approach and technology (controllable synthesis,
molecular recognition, spectral and thermodynamic study, supramolecular assembly
at interface, orthogonal self-assembly, supramolecular organic framework, molecular induced aggregation, theoretical calculation, and molecular simulation); (3)
application (chemical and biological sensing, theranostic tool, molecule/ion channel,
drug/gene delivery, supramolecule-assisted biomolecule production, supramoleculeassisted transmembrane transport, supramolecule-assisted immunity regulation, and
supramolecule-based medicinal drug.).
Each chapter in this handbook is written by active experts in the research field of
macrocyclic supramolecular assembly and has a high academic level. Together they
form a handbook that may become very important in the bibliography of supramolecular chemistry. I am glad to participate in this project by recommending this
vii