History

The existence of intermolecular forces was first postulated by Johannes Diderik van der Waals in 1873. However, it is with Nobel laureate Hermann Emil Fischer that supramolecular chemistry has its philosophical roots. In 1890, Fischer suggested that enzyme-substrate interactions take the form of a "lock and key", pre-empting the concepts of molecular recognition and host-guest chemistry. In the early twentieth century noncovalent bonds were understood in gradually more detail, with the hydrogen bond being described by Latimer and Rodebush in 1920.

The use of these principles led to an increasing understanding of protein structure and other biological processes. For instance, the important breakthrough that allowed the elucidation of the double helical structure of DNA occurred when it was realized that there are two separate strands of nucleotides connected through hydrogen bonds. The use of noncovalent bonds is essential to replication because they allow the strands to be separated and used to template new double stranded DNA. Concomitantly, chemists began to recognize and study synthetic structures based on noncovalent interactions, such as micelles and microemulsions.

Eventually, chemists were able to take these concepts and apply them to synthetic systems. The breakthrough came in the 1960s with the synthesis of the crown ethers by Charles J. Pedersen. Following this work, other researchers such as Donald J. Cram, Jean-Marie Lehn and Fritz Vogtle became active in synthesizing shape- and ion-selective receptors, and throughout the 1980s research in the area gathered a rapid pace with concepts such as mechanically-interlocked molecular architectures emerging.

The importance of supramolecular chemistry was established by the 1987 Nobel Prize for Chemistry which was awarded to Donald J. Cram, Jean-Marie Lehn, and Charles J. Pedersen in recognition of their work in this area. The development of selective "host-guest" complexes in particular, in which a host molecule recognizes and selectively binds a certain guest, was cited as an important contribution.

In the 1990s, supramolecular chemistry became even more sophisticated, with researchers such as James Fraser Stoddart developing molecular machinery and highly complex self-assembled structures, and Itamar Willner developing sensors and methods of electronic and biological interfacing. During this period, electrochemical and photochemical motifs became integrated into supramolecular systems in order to increase functionality, research into synthetic self-replicating system began, and work on molecular information processing devices began. The emerging science of nanotechnology also had a strong influence on the subject, with building blocks such as fullerenes, nanoparticles, and dendrimers becoming involved in synthetic systems.

DNA

Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) is a nucleic acid that contains the genetic instructions used in the development and functioning of all known living organisms and some viruses. The main role of DNA molecules is the long-term storage of information. DNA is often compared to a set of blueprints or a recipe, since it contains the instructions needed to construct other components of cells, such as proteins and RNA molecules. The DNA segments that carry this genetic information are called genes, but other DNA sequences have structural purposes, or are involved in regulating the use of this genetic information.

Chemically, DNA is a long polymer of simple units called nucleotides, with a backbone made of sugars and phosphate groups joined by ester bonds. Attached to each sugar is one of four types of molecules called bases. It is the sequence of these four bases along the backbone that encodes information. This information is read using the genetic code, which specifies the sequence of the amino acids within proteins. The code is read by copying stretches of DNA into the related nucleic acid RNA, in a process called transcription.

Within cells, DNA is organized into structures called chromosomes. These chromosomes are duplicated before cells divide, in a process called DNA replication. Eukaryotic organisms (animals, plants, and fungi) store their DNA inside the cell nucleus, while in prokaryotes (bacteria and archae) it is found in the cell's cytoplasm. Within the chromosomes, chromatin proteins such as histones compact and organize DNA. These compact structures guide the interactions between DNA and other proteins, helping control which parts of the DNA are transcribed

Photochemistry

Photochemistry, a sub-discipline of chemistry, is the study of the interactions between atoms, small molecules, and light (or electromagnetic radiation.

Like most scientific disciplines, photochemistry utilizes the SI or metric measurement system. Important units and constants that show up regularly include the meter (and variants such as centimeter, millimeter, micrometer, nanometer, etc.), seconds, hertz, joules, moles, the gas constant R, and the Boltzmann constant. These units and constants are also integral to the field of physical chemistry.

The first law of photochemistry, known as the Grotthuss-Draper law (for chemists Theodor Grotthuss and John W. Draper), states that light must be absorbed by a chemical substance in order for a photochemical reaction to take place.

The second law of photochemistry, the Stark-Einstein law, states that for each photon of light absorbed by a chemical system, only one molecule is activated for a photochemical reaction. This is also known as the photoequivalence law and was derived by Albert Einstein at the time when the quantum (photon) theory of light was being developed.

Photochemistry may also be introduced to laymen as a reaction that proceeds with the absorption of light. Normally a reaction (not just a photochemical reaction) occurs when a molecule gains the necessary activation energy to undergo change. A simple example can be the combustion of gasoline (a hydrocarbon) into carbon dioxide and water. This is a chemical reaction where one or more molecules/chemical species are converted into others. For this reaction to take place activation energy should be supplied. The activation energy is provided in the form of heat or a spark. In case of photochemical reactions light provides the activation energy.