Synthetic macrocyclic receptors as tools in drug delivery and drug discovery
Macrocyclic compounds (see Figure 1) have fascinated medicinal chemists for generations. The first ones which have been characterised are the naturally occurring cyclodextrins (CDs), cyclic oligomers of glucose, which can be obtained by bacterial synthesis from starch. Calixarenes (CXs) were among the first man-made macrocycles, followed by crown ethers (Pedersen,…