In a bid to develop synthetic molecules and materials that are capable of mimicking biological recognition and function, intensive research in the fields of synthetic receptor technologies, smart materials, synthetic biology and smart indicators has been under way for the past 20-30 years. The development of synthetic receptors continues to grow rapidly. Novel molecular architectures, with ever improving selective binding properties are constantly being described, and in some cases providing much-needed physical insights into the nature of non-covalent interactions and molecular recognition. Such receptor systems are finding increasingly esoteric applications and this book captures the key developments at the synthetic receptor/biology/detection science interface.

The editor has extensive experience in applying smart materials and synthetic receptors to the development of biosensors. Reddy has developed smart, permselective and biocompatible molecularly imprinted polymers and membrane materials for the sensor/sample interface and the advancement of smart materials-based electrochemical, quartz crystal and optical sensors for medical, food and environmental applications.

Chapters demonstrate how growing disciplines such as biomimetics, synthetic receptor technologies, pattern recognition and nanotechnology are being used to develop new smart materials for diagnostic sensor and biosensor applications. Postgraduate students and researchers in academia and industry will benefit from this resourceful handbook.