Supramolecular systems in aqueous media function as biomimetic reaction environments, enabling the investigation of microenvironmental effects and molecular interactions. Photochemical reactions in these complex media facilitate the development of photochemical tools for biological research. It is showcased herein how E/Z-isomerizations are influenced by supramolecular interactions. Afterwards, the importance of E/Z-isomerizations for biological applications is highlighted, for example, in the context of ion channels. These examples demonstrate that interactions between supramolecular entities and small molecules undergoing E/Z-isomerizations significantly influence the observed experimental outcomes.
Akbulut et al. (Wed,) studied this question.