This special issue of Supramolecular Chemistry is dedicated to the Sixth International Symposium of Macrocyclic and Supramolecular Chemistry, 6-ISMSC, which was held at the University of Sussex, Brighton, UK, from 3 to 7 July 2011. In this special issue, it has been the intention to include as many articles as possible from those who attended and presented work at the symposium, which attracted 350 delegates.
The subject matter of the symposium focused on the following themes: imaging and sensing, molecular machines and self-assembly, macrocycles in the twenty-first century, biological supramolecular chemistry, systems chemistry and complexity, functional materials and devices. The programme included plenary and keynote lectures as well as a limited number of contributed talks and oral previews of poster presentations. There were an impressive number of poster presentations, 250 in total. The plenary lectures were delivered by the winners of several awards, which were as follows:
| • | The winner of the prestigious 2011 International Izatt-Christensen Award was Andrew Hamilton (University of Oxford, UK), who was recognised for his significant contribution to many aspects of the fields of molecular recognition in both organic and biological chemistry. | ||||
| • | The winner of the inaugural 2011 Cram Lehn Pedersen Prize was Amar Flood (Indiana University, USA). This award recognises significant, original and independent work in supramolecular chemistry by an emerging investigator. | ||||
| • | The winner of the 2010 RSC Supramolecular Chemistry Award was Neil Champness (University of Nottingham, UK). This biennial award is presented by the RSC in recognition of studies leading to the design of functionally useful supramolecular species. | ||||
| • | The winner of the 2010 Bob Hay Lectureship was David Smith (University of York, UK). This lectureship is awarded by the RSC Macrocyclic and Supramolecular Chemistry Group and given to a younger chemist, normally based in the UK, who works in the area of macrocyclic and/or supramolecular chemistry. | ||||
The meeting was a great success, and not only for the science. Delegates were able to participate in special guided tours of the Royal Pavilion, an elaborate palace situated in Brighton town centre. Furthermore, the conference banquet was enjoyed by over 200 delegates at the Corn Exchange at the Brighton Dome. Taylor and Francis, other sponsors and the international and national organising committees are acknowledged for their contributions to the meeting. However, special mention must be made firstly for the RSC for their organisation and support and secondly for Philip Gale (Southampton, UK) who, as Chair, organised and ran the programme to great effect.
The ISMSC has gone from strength to strength since two original symposia, the International Symposium on Macrocyclic Chemistry (ISMC) and the International Symposium on Supramolecular Chemistry (ISSC) combined in 2006 for a meeting in Victoria, Canada. After the 2012 meeting in Otago, New Zealand, two further meetings are already planned as follows: Virginia, USA (2013) and Shanghai, China (2014). It seems certain that the ISMSC will continue to be the flagship symposium for the subject area of supramolecular chemistry for many years to come.
I would like to thank the editors of Supramolecular Chemistry (Jonathan Sessler and Philip Gale) for giving me the opportunity to edit this special issue and I am grateful to Kateri Aragon for her patience and assistance with the editing process. Finally, I am grateful for the contributions from the authors and reviewers who have made this special issue a success.