Calixarenes: A Versatile Class of Macrocyclic Compounds: (3 Topics in Inclusion Science)

The tenn "calixarenes", introduced in 1978 by D. Gutsche to describe the cyclic oligomers produced by condensation of p-substituted phenols with fonnaldehyde, is now universally accepted in the chemical community. The condensation of phenol with fonnaldehyde was studied in the last century by A. von Baeyer. Early in this century, L. Baekeland produced the first entirely synthetic polymers from phenol-fonnaldehyde condensates and the possibility that cyclic condensation products could be obtained from t-butylphenol, and fonnaldehyde was mentioned as early as in the beginning of the 1940's by A. Zinke. Despite their long history, the realisation that calixarenes may have very significant applications and uses in supramolecular chemistry is a relatively recent phenomenon. Calixarene chemistry, in contrast to their discovery, started slowly in the 1970's but rapidly gained momentum throughout the 1980's. Following C. Pedersens discovery of the crown ethers and the seminal developments of J. -M. Lehn and D. Cram with cryptands and spherands - all three honoured with the 1987 Nobel Chemistry Prize - the time was right for a surge of interest in research areas, frequently referred to as host-guest chemistry, receptor or supramolecular chemistry, and including important comparisons with biological processes and the development of new advanced materials. Now, the cyclic, bowl or basket-shaped calixarene molecules were looked on in a different light. Rather than "having developed from harmful by-products of phenoplasts manufacture" they were now seen as potentially valuable macrocyclic receptor molecules.

Table of Contents:
One: History and Synthesis of Calixarenes.- Single Step Synthesis and Properties of Calixarenes.- Special Calixarenes, Synthesis and Properties.- Two: X-Ray Structural Data on Calixarene Architectures.- Conformations of Calixarenes in the Crystalline State.- Inclusion Properties and Host—Guest Interactions of Calixarenes in the Solid State.- Three: Inclusion Properties of Calixarenes and Their Derivatives.- Calixarene-Based Cation Receptors and Carriers.- Chemically Modified Calixarenes as New Selective Receptors for Monovalent Cations.- Functionalized Calixarenes: New Applications as Catalysts, Ligands, and Host Molecules.- Water Soluble Calixarene Salts. A Class of Compounds with Solid-State Structures Resembling Those of Clays.- Lanthanide Ions and Calixarenes.- Four: Industrial Applications.- Industrial Applications of Calixarenes.- List of Contributors.

Review :
'This book that deals with a special class of host-guest chemistry, recognized by the 1987 Nobel Chemistry Prize Awards, should appeal to almost all chemists. Medicinal chemists, in particular, may find it a source of novel new approaches to potential therapeutic agents.' Journal of Medicinal Chemistry 35:7 1992