ABSTRACT
Among the pathological conditions in which chemistry plays an especially
important role is contact allergy (Lepoittevin et al., 1998) and chemical
reactions/interactions are involved throughout the biological process that will
result in the patient developing delayed hypersensitivity. Thus, the crossing of
the cutaneous barrier is mainly controlled by the physicochemical properties
of the allergen (molecular volume and lipophilicity). The formation of the
hapten-protein complex, which involves the formation of new chemical bonds,
is driven by molecular orbital properties. Finally, the recognition between the
antigen and the receptors on T-lymphocytes can be explained by a discipline
undergoing rapid development, that of supramolecular chemistry.
