edited by Luigi Mandolini (Università di Roma “La Sapienza” & CNR, Roma, Italy) & Rocco Ungaro (Università degli Studi di Parma, Italy)

Luigui Mandolini was born in 1943 in Pesaro, Italy. He is a professor of Organic Chemistry and since 1987 has been Director of the Centro di Studio sui Meccanismi di Reazione of CNR at the Università di Roma La Sapienza. He received his education in Chemistry at La Sapienza as a student of Gabriello Illuminati and has served on the staff of the same university since 1970. In 1979, he was awarded the Ciamician Medal of the Società Chimica Italiana for his contributions in the field of macrocyclization reactions. He is presently Chairman of the Management Committee of COST D11 Action on Supramolecular Chemistry. His principal research interests lie in physical and mechanistic organic chemistry, with a particular focus on reactivity and catalysis in supramolecular systems.
 

Rocco Ungaro was born in 1943 in Anzi (Potenza, Italy) and studied Chemistry at the University of Parma, where he graduated in 1968, writing a thesis on the isolation and characterization of natural products. In 1974/75, he was a postdoctoral fellow at the State University of New York (SUNY) in Syracuse (New York), working with Prof. Johannes Smid on crown ethers and ion pairs. From 1971 to 1982 he was a lecturer, from 1982 to 1986 an associate professor, and since 1986 he has been a full professor of Organic Chemistry at the University of Parma. Prof Ungaro is one of the pioneers in developing the chemistry of calixarenes and promoting their use in supramolecular chemistry. His current research interests concern the chemistry of aromatic compounds, as well as the design and synthesis of new molecular receptors for biologically relevant species and calixarenes.
 

Calixarenes in Action is unique among books devoted to this interesting class of synthetic macrocycles. Rather than emphasizing the molecular properties of calixarenes, it covers in depth their supramolecular functions, enlightening the reader as to the peculiar features of calixarenes as hosts and as platforms for the synthesis of more complex receptors and catalysts. Topics covered in detail include the use of calixarenes in:

• molecular modeling of calixarenes

• non-covalent interactions

• crystal engineering

• cation recognition

• anion recognition

• supramolecular devices

• new materials

• self-assembly processes

• supramolecular catalysis

The interest in calixarenes has grown tremendously in the last few years and this book reports, for each topic, the most recent literature critically evaluated by active researchers in the field. Calixarenes in Action is a valuable reference book for researchers in organic, inorganic, analytical and environmental chemistry and can serve as a graduate-level text for students of supramolecular science and technology.