Chemistry

J. Rebek, Jr.,Molecular recognition with model systems, Angewandte Chemie, 29:245-55, 1990.

Julius Rebek, Jr. (Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge): This paper is in the form of a review of my recent work, and part of its high frequency of citation can be attributed to the convenience of finding current references there. It is a retrospective, and some readers may have responded to its personal style: interpretations of trends and targets in molecular recognition, along with the fluctuations between sanguinity or achievement, and failure or despair, that characterize the science.

The paper does offer an overview of how intermolecular forces can be manipulated for applications in catalysis. It draws attention to the factors such as spacing, orientation, and timing that are likely to be incorporated into the next generation of successful enzyme mimics, and provides some primitive notions for the design of self-replicating molecules.