ABSTRACT
Biological receptors and enzymes possess sites for molecular recognition and catalysis [1]. Many of these biological macromolecules contain metal ions, which serve both structural and catalytic functions by orchestrating the three-dimensional arrangement of ligands and by providing the focus for reactivity [2].The use of metal ion coordination is an extremely powerful method for organizing functional groups to create recognition sites and selective catalysts. In this chapter, we examine the application of metal^ ligand interactions as an organizational motif for controlling the microenvironment of imprinted polymers. This strategy has been employed to control both reactivity and selectivity by modulating the coordination sphere of the catalytic center, and as a method to achieve an ordered three-dimensional array of functional groups in a binding site.
