En route to supramolecular functional plasticity: artificial beta-barrels,the barrel-stave motif, and related approaches

This review emphasizes recent or pertinent efforts to create functional pla sticity with artificial barrel-stave supramolecules and related motifs. On the structural level, a summary of engineered, de novo designed, and artifi cial beta -barrels beyond peptide chemistry is followed by representative a lpha -helix bundles and barrel-stave supramolecules comprising oligonucleot ides, inorganic architecture, and organic barrel-stave ion channel models. On the functional level, selected examples are given to highlight divers as pects of molecular recognition, translocation, and transformation that are currently accessible with artificial barrel-stave supramolecules.