Physicochemical Molecular Recognition

Abstract

Understanding of living phenomena on the basis of chemical concept has made a remarkable development in past two decades, and so many purely synthetic molecules have been found in these several years which successfully show their "molecular recognition" capacities. Here, various possible and promising approaches to chemical organization for the artificial living systems will be discussed. In chapter 2, prepa ration of artificial cells will be discussed, with attention focused on lipid-lipid interaction in the membrane of liposomes, formation of the pH gradient across the membrane in the artificial respiratory cell and the artificial photosynthesis system. Chapter 3 summarizes the chemical organization of artificial enzymes and artificial re ceptors by the use of cyclodextrin, cyclophanes or crown ethers. Purther, development of the artificial P-450 model system will be discussed. "Allosterism" proposed by Monod as a unique and most beautiful concept for regulation, for example, has become more and more important since more and more allosteric enzymes have been discovered, many of which are membrane-bound. The basic characteristic of the allosteric regulation is the transfer of the conformation change of the protein to the rest proteins in a single protein-protein complex. We have succeeded in chemical organization for "allosterism" by the use of "gable porphyrin". Emphasis is placed on this system in chapter 4.