Calixarenes in analytical and separation chemistry

Discovered in the 1940’s, [1_n]metacyclophanes with the common name calix[n]arenes which is derived from for the molecule’s shape enjoyed a remarkable interest in almost all fields of chemistry since the 1980’s, which is highlighted by several books [1–8]. Over 50 reviews concerning their synthesis, properties and applicabilities were published, many of those with emphasis on organic synthesis and structural properties are cited in ¶[P. 5–6 in 2]. Of interest for analytical chemists are reviews on calixarenes and the structurally related resorcin[n]arenes (or calix[n]resorcarenes) and calixpyrroles concerning potentiometric sensors [9–12], chromo- and fluorophores [13, 14], molecular switches [15], metal ion binding in solution [16–19], redox properties [20] and anion binding [21–24]. Other recent reviews deal with thermodynamic aspects [25], organometallic compounds [26], P-containing calixarenes [27–29], as well as molecular dynamics modeling [30–33]. It is a vital field with over 200 publications per year. Therefore, this article presents only selected results on complexation, solvent extraction and membrane transport with the emphasis on ion and molecular recognition which can be used for analytical purposes, without attempting to cover all available references.