Selective Biorecognition on Polymer Surfaces: General Issues

Abstract

Biorecognition, or molecular recognition, can be defined as the process in which biological molecules interact. This process is the basis of all biological interactions and therefore a key to sustain living systems. In spite of the paramount importance of these processes, the answers of many questions are still unresolved. For instance, how proteins can recognize other proteins, how receptors recognize specific ligands, or how antibodies recognize antigens has been the center of multiple studies and some of the molecular mechanisms of those interactions are not fully clear yet. The large amount of work developed in understanding biorecognition processes has been realized from different points of view. While several groups attempted to focus on protein–protein or protein–ligand interactions from a biophysical and structural perspective, others focused on complex interaction networks involved in signal transduction pathways, both in vivo and in vitro. Equally, protein–nucleic acid, protein–carbohydrate, protein–lipid, and even protein–solvent interactions have been investigated extensively. In spite of the multiple aspects that need further research, several aspects are currently understood and will be briefly described within this chapter.