Host-guest relationship, definition

Supramolecular chemistry has been defined by one of its leading proponents, Jean-Marie Lehn, who won the Nobel Prize for his work in the area in 1987, as the chemistry of molecular assemblies and of the intermolecular bond . More colloquially this may be expressed as chemistry beyond the molecule . Other definitions include phrases such as the chemistry of the non-covalent bond and non-molecular chemistry . Originally supramolecular chemistry was defined in terms of the non-covalent interaction between a host and a guest molecule as highlighted in Figure 1.1, which illustrates the relationship between molecular and supramolecular chemistry in terms of both structures and function. 

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