Substrate Selectivity Imparted by Self-Assembled Molecular Containers and Catalysts

Recenttrendsin catalysisare devotedto mimickingsomepeculiarfeaturesof enzymeslikesiteselectivity,throughfunctionalgrouprecognition,and substrateselectivity,throughrecognitionof the entiresurfaceof the substrate.The latteris aspecificfeatureof enzymesthatis seldomlypresentinhomogeneouscatalysis.Supramolecularcatalysis,thanksto theself-assemblyof simplesubunits,enablesthecreationofcavitiesandsurfaceswhoseconfinementeffectsdrivethepreferentialbindingof a substrateamongotherswithconse-quentsubstrateselectivity.The topicis an emergingfieldthatexploitsrecognitionphenomenato discriminatethe reagentsbasedon theirsize and shape.Thisreviewdealsthis cutting-edgefieldof researchcoveringexamplesof supramolecularself-assembledmolecularcontainersand catalystsoperatinginorganicas wellas aqueousmedia,withspecialemphasisforcatalyticsystemsdealingwithdirectcompetitiveexperimentsinvolvingtwo or more substrates