Calixarenes as sensor materials for recognition and separation of metal ions

Chemical separation and speciation are two fundamental processes that have ushered significant advances in biological and material world. The underlying principles for most innovative separations involve molecular recognition and its subsequent translation to methodologies for detection and separation. Recent advances in the field have demonstrated that calix[n]arenes are attractive sensor materials for recognition of metal ions and small molecules and they can be employed for designing novel molecular filters. An overview of related work on the synthesis and evaluation of calixarene based molecular receptors is presented.