The first directed synthesis of a catenane was reported 50 years ago by Gottfried Schill and Arthur Lüttringhaus [1]. Over the past 30 years, the field has exploded, and as J. Fraser Stoddart, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, USA, explains in his Editorial in Angewandte Chemie, mechanically interlocked molecules such as catenanes and rotaxanes have changed from being intellectual curiosities to architectures that have wide ranging applications as components of molecular machines and electronic devices.

Stoddart outlines how the field has developed over the years, and points out that the time is ripe for chemists, materials scientists, and engineers to find real applications for these molecules.

• Putting Mechanically Interlocked Molecules (MIMs) to Work in Tomorrow’s World,
  J. Fraser Stoddart,
  Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2014.
  DOI: 10.1002/anie.201408043

 References

• [1] The Preparation of Catena Compounds by Directed Synthesis, G. Schill, A. Lüttringhaus, Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. Engl. 1964, 3, 546–547. DOI: 10.1002/anie.196405461