Kinetics Inside, Outside And Through Cucurbiturils

This review describes the kinetics at play in Cucurbituril (CB[n])/guest recognition within a very wide time frame, from picoseconds to days. We cover the kinetics of (1) radiative and non-radiative decays of fluorophores inside and outside CB[n]s, (2) guest motions in the CB[n] cavity, and (3) ingression, egression and threading mechanisms into, out of and through the macrocycles. We then show that the kinetics of guest release or capture can be controlled using CB[n]-capped mesoporous systems and micelles, or by coupling those processes to the kinetics of ancillary reactions. The last section is devoted to the latest examples of reactions catalyzed and inhibited by CB[n]s.