Strong and selective biomimetic receptors for water-soluble guests through cooperative enhancement and molecular imprinting

This dissertation presents two types of synthetic receptors that mimic their biological counterparts in molecular recognition. The first type is cooperatively enhanced receptors (CERs) that utilize intrahost interactions to magnify their guest binding. The enhancement in binding was achieved by eliminating unfavorable repulsion within the host by the guest. The second type is molecularly imprinted nanoparticles (MINPs) that resemble protein receptors in size, water solubility, and template-specific binding sites. Functionalized with benzoxaborole binding groups, the MINPs could be tailored to bind mono- and oligosaccharides in high affinity and selectivity