Rotaxanes and polyrotaxanes. Their synthesis and the supramolecular devices based on them

Various approaches to the synthesis of rotaxanes and polyrotaxanes are considered. The principles employed in the design of highly organised structures comprising rod-shaped polymeric molecules, viz., macromolecular inclusion complexes, are discussed. In addition to the conventional (step-by-step) methodology which consists of polymerisation of monomers in the presence of macrocycles, molecular self-assembly is gaining an ever increasing significance. The main emphasis is laid on the preparation and characterisation of inclusion complexes which are based on cyclodextrins and linear synthetic polymers. The bibliography includes 138 references.