Reversible Coordinative Bonds in Molecular Recognition

Metal complexes with open coordination sites have found use in molecular recognition. They serve as binding in the development of chemosensors to study metalloenzyme in bioinorganic chemistry or to direct self-assembly. Lewis-acidic metal complexes can target a large variety of Lewis basic functional groups, makes them very suitable for the design of synthetic. Coordination to metal ions occurs typically with large enthalpies compared to those for hydrogen bond, salt-bridges, or dipole-dipole interactions.