The term
supermolecule or
supramolecule, was introduced by K.L. Wolf (
Übermoleküle) in 1937 to describe hydrogen bonded
acetic acidAcetic acid, CH
3COOH, also known as ethanoic acid, is an organic acid which gives vinegar its sour taste and pungent smell. It is a weak acid, in that it is only partially dissociated acid in aqueous solution...
dimerA dimer is a chemical or biological entity consisting of two structurally similar subunits called monomers, which are joined by bonds, which can be strong or weak.- Organic chemistry :...
s. The study of non-covalent association of complexes of molecules has since developed into the field of
supramolecular chemistrySupramolecular chemistry refers to the area of chemistry beyond the molecules and focuses on the chemical systems made up of a discrete number of assembled molecular subunits or components...
. The term supermolecule is sometimes used to describe supramolecular assemblies, which are complexes of two or more
moleculeA molecule is defined as an electrically neutral group of at least two atoms in a definite arrangement held together by very strong chemical bonds. Molecules are distinguished from polyatomic ions in this strict sense...
s often
macromoleculeA macromolecule is a very large molecule most often created by some form of polymerization. In the context of biochemistry, the term may be applied to the four conventional biopolymers , as well as non-polymeric molecules with large molecular mass such as macrocycles...
s that are not covalently bonded.
Discussion
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The term
supermolecule or
supramolecule, was introduced by K.L. Wolf (
Übermoleküle) in 1937 to describe hydrogen bonded
acetic acidAcetic acid, CH
3COOH, also known as ethanoic acid, is an organic acid which gives vinegar its sour taste and pungent smell. It is a weak acid, in that it is only partially dissociated acid in aqueous solution...
dimerA dimer is a chemical or biological entity consisting of two structurally similar subunits called monomers, which are joined by bonds, which can be strong or weak.- Organic chemistry :...
s. The study of non-covalent association of complexes of molecules has since developed into the field of
supramolecular chemistrySupramolecular chemistry refers to the area of chemistry beyond the molecules and focuses on the chemical systems made up of a discrete number of assembled molecular subunits or components...
. The term supermolecule is sometimes used to describe supramolecular assemblies, which are complexes of two or more
moleculeA molecule is defined as an electrically neutral group of at least two atoms in a definite arrangement held together by very strong chemical bonds. Molecules are distinguished from polyatomic ions in this strict sense...
s often
macromoleculeA macromolecule is a very large molecule most often created by some form of polymerization. In the context of biochemistry, the term may be applied to the four conventional biopolymers , as well as non-polymeric molecules with large molecular mass such as macrocycles...
s that are not covalently bonded. The term supermolecule is also used in
biochemistryBiochemistry is the study of the chemical processes in living organisms. It deals with the structure and function of cellular components such as proteins, carbohydrates, lipids, nucleic acids and other biomolecules....
to describe complexes of
biomoleculeA biomolecule is any organic molecule that is produced by a living organism, including large polymeric molecules such as proteins, polysaccharides, and nucleic acids as well as small molecules such as primary metabolites, secondary metabolites, and natural products.As organic molecules,...
s, such as
peptidePeptides are short polymers formed from the linking, in a defined order, of α-amino acids. The link between one amino acid residue and the next is called an amide bond or a peptide bond....
s and
oligonucleotideAn oligonucleotide is a short nucleic acid polymer, typically with twenty or fewer bases. Although they can be formed by bond cleavage of longer segments, they are now more commonly synthesized by polymerizing individual nucleotide precursors...
s composed of multiple strands.
See also
- Supramolecular chemistry
Supramolecular chemistry refers to the area of chemistry beyond the molecules and focuses on the chemical systems made up of a discrete number of assembled molecular subunits or components...
- Molecular self-assembly
Molecular self-assembly is the process by which molecules adopt a defined arrangement without guidance or management from an outside source. There are two types of self-assembly, intramolecular self-assembly and intermolecular self-assembly...
- Supramolecular assembly
A supramolecular assembly or "supermolecule" is a well defined complex of molecules held together by noncovalent bonds. While a supramolecular assembly can be simply composed of two molecules , it is more often used to denote larger complexes of molecules that form sphere-, rod-, or sheet-like...
- Macromolecule
A macromolecule is a very large molecule most often created by some form of polymerization. In the context of biochemistry, the term may be applied to the four conventional biopolymers , as well as non-polymeric molecules with large molecular mass such as macrocycles...