Cytochrome P450 is one of Nature's oxidative workhorses and is utilized in
a wide variety of roles, one of the most important being the detoxification
of foreign bodies within the liver. As a result of its fundamental importa
nce it has been extensively investigated, modeled and mimicked over the pas
t 30 years, and more recently modified and mutated. During this period the
complexity, beauty and activity of the biomimetic model systems developed i
n the laboratory have grown considerably. The synthetic analogues of the cy
tochrome P450 system have evolved dramatically fromsimple sterically hinder
ed porphyrin models through to more complex model systems combining cavitie
s such as cyclodextrins and utilizing the interactions between host and gue
st to generate substrate selectivity and stereoselectivity in product forma
tion. More recently, researchers have tried to combine knowledge obtained f
rom the developing field of supramolecular chemistry and from biochemistry
to construct self-assembling systems that contain all the components of the
natural system and even utilize molecular oxygen as the oxidant. These sys
tems are successful in that they can achieve turnover numbers comparable to
those observed for the natural system. The history of these developments a
nd the current 'state-of-the-art' in construction of mimics of the natural
enzyme will be presented.