The book Supramolecular Systems for Biomedical Fields edited by Hans-Jörg Schneider, published in the series of Monographs in Supramolecular Chemistry provides current advances in supramolecular systems together with their impact in biomedical applications, a challenging topical research field. Given the importance of the living systems, it is meaningful to see the progress in the development of new synthetic multifunctional receptors capable to selective recognition of biological compounds, which leads to a wide range of potential applications. It is nevertheless a difficult task, if not impossible, for a book to encompass all aspects involved in this newly emerging interdisciplinary research area. As such, the editor's point was to primarily focus on the progress made so far in practical applications of supramolecular complexes in life sciences.The book is structured in sixteen chapters covering specific topics, each chapter being written by leading scientists in the field. The book is dealing with the following classes of current applications of host-guest complexes in biomedical field: (i) sensing of bioactive inoganic ions and organic substrates, diagnostics and imaging, (ii) interactions with proteins and nucleic acids, and (iii) drug protection, release and targeting, and gene delivery as the editor presented in Chapter 1 (Introduction by Schneider). In this respect, the book is starting with a brief summary of the subjects presented throughout the book in the context of non-covalent interactions and their role for chemistry in both healthcare and biotechnology. The author emphasizes the ability of modern synthetic methods based on supramolecular chemistry principles to design specific host compounds that selectively interact with practically every target molecule within biological systems. Based on the importance of analytes detection in biomedical field, with high sensitivity, Millan and Prins in Chapter 2, highlight the means to obtain very high sensitivity by amplification pathways combining catalysis and multivalency. As for instance, the authors show that using synthetic catalysts containing recognition sequences, DNA targets can be detected with a sensitivity down to 5 nM. In Chapter 3, Magri and Mallia are discussing sensors based on host molecules that exhibit sensitive signals upon recognition of biomedically important analytes with respect to metal ions. Moreover, they present a newly developed technique for noninvasive, real-time visualization of chemical events at the molecular level within living cells, tissues or entire organs, namely, imaging by means of supramolecular complexes, mostly by fluorescence tomography. Further on, along the same topics showing how nanoparticles allow the loading of multiple agents like NIR fluorophores, radiotracers, and photosensitizers employed in tumor detection, Gupta and Pandey are addressing in Chapter 15. Typical examples of several structures designed and employed in sensing of organic and biological compounds are very clearly illustrated by Schneider in Chapter 4. Interesting results are also presented in Chapter 14 by Dickert and Mujahid, who explore several synthetic host compounds for highly sensitive and selection detection primarily suitable for optical signaling, and emphasize the ability of molecular imprinting to perform highly selective recognition of antibodies, cells, viruses, and bacteria. Recent progress in magnetic resonance imaging, both structural (MRI) and functional (fMRI), the most advanced noninvasive medical imaging modality employed in detection, diagnostics, and therapy monitoring, is highlighted in Chapter 10 by Schatz and Schüle. Thus, they investigate the use of supramolecular metal complexes, in particular based on Gd3+, which has rapidly been accepted in common practice for controlling possible toxicity and biodistribution with tumor cells as targets. Within the context of sensing bioactive inorganic ions and organic substrates, diagnostics and imaging, a number of chapters are focused on host molecules playing an increasing role in several biomedical applications like cyclodextrins (Chapter 5 by Mellet et al.), calixarenes (Chapter 6 by Perret and Coleman), cucurbituril (Chapter 7 by Saleh et al., Chapter 12 by Henning), crown ethers, cyclophanes, and porphyrins (Chapter 4 by Schneider). In his overview (Chapter 12), Henning discusses the supramolecular approaches to enzyme assays based on chemosensors, membrane transport systems, and macrocyclic host-guest systems, whereas Perret and Coleman (Chapter 6) review in a clear manner the latest studies on interactions of calixarenes and other organic supramolecular systems with proteins pointing out the use of calixarenes for enzyme protection or activation and inhibition, as anticoagulants, and other interesting biomedical applications.Moving on to the supramolecular chemistry principles applied on interactions with proteins and nucleic acids, from a vast spectrum of applications, the selected contributions deal with the use of macrocycles such as calixarenes modulating protein functions (Chapter 6), cyclodextrins (Chapter 5), cucurbiturils (Chapter 7), and other hosts (Chapter 4). In Chapter 8, Garcia-Espagna et al. present the interaction of nucleic acids with synthetic polyamines and how these ligands showed new ways to differentiate groove binding and gene delivery. On the same topics, Aldrich-Wright et al. (Chapter 9) address the application of metal complexes in tumor therapy with platinum derivatives, and the increase of their efficiency by addition of functional groups, which entail lower toxicity and higher selectivity. In Chapter 5, Mellet et al. emphasize recent advances of cyclodextrins and their derivatives applications in nanotechnology (the toxicity of cytostatic drugs is lowered by nanocapsules) among other interesting potential applications such as: bioavailability of therapeutic agents, design of intelligent systems envisioned for delivery and release of drugs, devising new therapeutic alternatives for known maladies or for biosensing devices. Interesting potential applications of cucurbituril-based nanoparticles target to human ovarian carcinoma cells near to recent studies of cucurbiturils and their derivatives on drug delivery systems, diagnostic bioassays and other biological relevant applications, are professionally discussed by Saleh, Ghosh, and Nau in Chapter 7. As the large number of published scientific papers illustrates, the supramolecular complexes as gels may be used in different biomedical applications. In Chapter 11, Miravet and Escuder demonstrate by example how implementation of antibiotics in suitable gels may significantly increase their antibiotic activity. Pointing out that the design and implementation of multimodal tumor imaging agents with therapeutic possibilities in the combination of disease diagnosis treatment, and disease monitoring is the new area of research involving molecular imaging, Gupta and Pandey in Chapter 15, show how selectivity in photodynamic therapy is increased through binding the photosensitizer to molecular delivery systems or by conjugating sensitizers with targeting agents. Various aspects of dynamic system applications to bioactive compounds with their various biological targets are summarized in Chapter 13 by Ramström et. al. The authors reveal that one of the biggest challenge in constitutional dynamic chemistry is still the discovery of new reversible reaction types.In recent years, significant progress has been made in therapeutic applications of polymers as new drugs entities. In this respect, in Chapter 16, Leblond et al. discuss targeting in biological systems by means of supramolecular complexation in macromolecules such as polymers engineered with adequate binding functions that are able to mediate inflammation, block cellular receptors, immune responses, possibly damage bacterial membranes, inhibit adsorption, and act as toxin scavengers.Written by leading scientists in the field, this book is a valuable contribution on potential applications of supramolecular systems in biomedical fields, a current topic of research. The book is very dense and a great deal of information is provided throughout. It is clearly written, well illustrated, and the graphics is of high quality and representative. The references of all contributions are quite recent and significant. This book is mainly addressed to the graduate students and researchers working in the area of supramolecular chemistry of biological systems, pharmaceutical, medicinal, and nanotechnology as well.
