Platonic solids spherical hosts based

Fig. 4 Spherical hosts based on the Platonic solids (a) spherand (tetrahedron) (b) metal-organic cage (tetrahedron) (c) cyclophane-based cube (cube) (d) the [(V06)(RP03)g] ion (R=fBu, OSiMe ) (octahedron and cube) ( e DNA-based cube (printed with permission by Professor Nadrian Seeman) (cube) and (f) the rhinovirus (icosahedron). (View this art in color at www.dekker.com.)...

Thus, it is herein that we now describe the results of this analysis which we regard as the development of a general strategy for the construction of spherical molecular hosts. [11] We will begin by presenting the idea of self-assembly in the context of spherical hosts and then, after summarizing the Platonic and Archimedean solids, we will provide examples of cubic symmetry-based hosts, from both the laboratory and nature, with structures that conform to these polyhedra. 

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