Chirality transfer through helical motifs in coordination compounds

Helicates obtained by self-assembly have initiated a revolution from classical coordination chemistry to extensive supramolecular concepts. The design of helicates will be described, and the structural features that are necessary for chirality transfer, as well as the extension of chirality from one dimensional to three-dimensional chiral polymers in complicated chiral architectures will also be addressed. Chiral assembly by using achiral components has been given con-siderable attention in this review paper. The understanding of the essential processes and mechanisms in the chiral assembly on the basis of helicate supramolecular structures is a fundamental study in a variety of disciplines ranging from biology to materials science. ((c) Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, 69451 Weinheim, Germany, 2007).