Molecular recognition: Supramolecular, polymeric and biomimetic coatings for chemical sensors and chromatographic columns

Complete control of the selective and reversible interaction of molecules from the gas or liquid phase at complementary recognition sites is of increasing interest for both basic science and practical applications. This recognition may occur at the surface or in the bulk of optimized chemically sensitive coatings. It is either monitored discontinuously by chromatography or continuously by a suitable sensor. The latter contains the optimized coating and converts the chemical information about concentrations of certain molecules by means of a certain transducer into an electronic signal. Generally speaking, these transducers form the essential part of ‘chemical sensors’; they monitor the molecular interactions at the chemically sensitive layer by changes in resistivity, impedance, mass, capacitance, work function, heat, electrochemical potential, optical thickness, or optical absorption in a certain spectral range. Three selected case studies of such molecular recognition devices which utilize supramolecular, polymeric, and biomimetic coatings are presented. Examples are given for both gas and liquid sensing devices. For simplification, because of its general applicability and its easy absolute calibration, particular emphasis is put on signal transduction via quartz crystal oscillators. The measurement principle is based on frequency changes which are directly correlated with mass changes and thus provide a particularly suitable signal transduction. The examples presented here concern systematic variations in the design of supramolecular cages, of selective interaction sites in polymeric matrices, and of covalently attached biomimetic recognition sites to monitor antibodies or enzyme interactions. Received: 11 August 1997 / Revised: 3 March 1998 / Accepted: 3 March 1998