The design of molecular hosts, guests, and their complexes.

The origins, definitions, tools, and guiding principles of host-guest chemistry are developed. Perching, nesting, and capsular complexes are exemplified through molecular model and crystal structure comparisons. The degree of preorganization of a host for binding is a central determinant of its binding power. Complementarity of binding site placement in host and guest is a central determinant of structural recognition in complexation. Examples are given of chiral recognition in complexation, of partial transacylase mimics, of caviplexes, and of a synthetic molecular cell.

Cavitands: organic hosts with enforced cavities.

Organic hosts are now being designed and synthesized which contain enforced cavities large enough to complex and even surround simple inorganic or organic guest compounds.

Dynamic hemicarcerands and hemicarceplexes.

The reversible nature of the imine bond formation in CDCl(3) solution has been exploited to exchange substituted for unsubstituted m-phenylenediamine (MPD) units in hemicarcerand octaimines. Moreover, acid-catalyzed imine exchange has been shown to provide a novel mechanism whereby ferrocene (Fc) can be released as an entrapped guest from the hemicarceplex C(2)B(4)&crcldt;Fc dissolved in CDCl(3) to give the hemicarcerand C(2)B(4) when excess of both MPD and trifluoroacetic acid are present.

Chiral recognition between host and guest: a binaphthyl-18-crown-6 host with D-phenylglycinium methyl ester perchlorate guest. A difficult structure solved with CRUNCH.

The complex between (R)-4,5,7,8,10,11,13,14,16,17-decahydro-2,19- diphenyldinaphtho[2,1-q:1',2'-s][1,4,7,- 10,13,16]hexaoxa[2,5,8,11,14,17,19]cycloicosaheptene {Chemical Abstracts name: (R)-4,5,7,8,10,11,13,14,16,17-decahydro-2,19- diphenyldinaphtho[2,1-q:1',2'-s][1,4,7,-10,13,16]hexaoxacycloic osin} and D-2-phenylglycinium methyl ester perchlorate, C9H12NO2+.ClO4-.C42H40O6.-H2O, crystallizes in the orthorhombic space group P2(1)2(1)2(1) with two C9H12NO2+.C42H40O6 complexes, two ClO4- ions and two molecules of water in the asymmetric unit. Crystal data: M(r) = 924.44, a = 23.048 (7), b = 34.383 (6), c = 11.992 (6) A, V = 9503 (6) A3, Z = 8, Dx = 1.292 Mg m-3, F(000) = 3904, mu(Cu K alpha) = 1.261 mm-1, T = 175 K, R = 0.0896 for all 7784 reflections, 1208 parameters refined in three blocks with 29 restraints. Nearly twenty years elapsed between the first data collection and the solution of the structure with the direct-methods program CRUNCH. The structural details are of interest because enantiomers of this host show a high degree of discrimination between enantiomers of alpha-amino acids and their esters. The crystal structure demonstrates the influence of C-H...O and C-H...pi interactions on the unexpected orientation of the guest in the host cavity. The same orientation is found in both of the unique complexes, and the geometric details are in agreement with solution studies.