Hybrid supramolecular materials

Successive H-bond urea self-assembly of 4 and sol-gel transcription steps yield preferential conduction pathways within the hybrid membrane materials. Crystallographic, microscopic and transport data confirm the formation of self-organized molecular channels transcribed in solid dense thin-layer membranes. The ionic transport across the organized domains illustrates the power of the supramolecular approach for the design of continual hydrophilic transport devices in hybrid membrane materials by self-organization (Figure 10.8) [42-44]. 

Controlled formation of three-dimensional functional devices in silica makes the hybrid membrane materials presented here of interest for the development of a new supramolecular approach to nanoscience and nanotechnology through self-organization, towards systems of increasing behavioral and functional addressabilities (catalysis, optical and electronic applications, etc.). 

Hybrid (Nano)Materials Meet Supramolecular Chemistry ... 

In this chapter, supramolecular chemistry related to developments in materials fabrication and functionalization at the mesoscale are discussed, with an emphasis on those systems based on organic-inorganic hybrid structures. The contents of this chapter are classified into (1) supramolecular chemistry within mesoscopic media, (2) supramolecular assembly at the mesoscale, and (3) supramolecular materials at the mesoscale. Despite this classification these topics have considerable similarities. 

Supramolecular Chemistry Meets Hybrid (Nano)Materials A Brief Look Ahead... 

The thematic outline of the book was conceived during winter 2006/2007. The contents of the book thus basically reflect the specialized areas of research at the intersection of supramolecular chemistry and hybrid (nano)materials that were established at that time. However, because of the vibrant drive of research in these two areas, it is not surprising that significant new developments are being conceived, realized, and published almost quarterly. Of course, once new findings are reported, especially on novel composite materials, it is difficult to forecast whether they will become important... 

For all these reasons, the guanine building blocks and the sol-gel chemistry were used as molecular precursor to conceive hybrid chiral materials at nanometric and micrometric scales. Our efforts involved the synthesis and the self-assembly of a guaninesiloxane monomer Gsi (Fig. 3) in the G-quartet and G-quadruplex supramolecular architectures (Fig. 6), which are fixed in a hybrid organic-inorganic material by using a sol-gel transcription process, followed by a second inorganic transcription in silica, by calcination. 

This chapter focuses on how to apply concepts and methods in supramolecular chemistry to sense biologically relevant targets in vitro. On the basis of the type of supramolecular materials, the chapter is divided into three parts, including small molecules, polymers, and natural biological molecule-nanomaterial hybrids. Important sensing principles and highlighted examples, such as optical, mass-sensitive, or electrochemical biosensors, are also presented. 

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