| Abstract: | This paper discusses the molecular design of selected examples of structural units containing taper shaped exo-receptors and various crown ether, oligooxyethylenic, and H-bonding based endo-receptors, which self-assemble into cylindrical channel-like architectures via principles resembling those of tobacco mosaic virus (TMV). The ability of these structural units to self- assemble via a delicate combination of exo-and endo-recognition processes will be presented. A comparison between various supramolecular (generated via H-bonding, ionic, and electrostatic interactions) and molecular “polymer backbones” will be made. The present limitations concerning the ability to engineer the structural parameters of these supramolecular channel-like architectures and some possible novel material functions derived from them will be briefly mentioned. |
