Cryptophane


 * This article is about the organic compound. For the GnuPG frontend, see Cryptophane (software).

A cryptophane is an organic supramolecular compound studied primarily for molecular encapsulation and recognition. One particularly noteworthy potential application of cryptophanes includes encapsulation and storage of hydrogen gas for potential use in fuel cell automobiles. Cryptophanes can also serve as containers in which organic chemists can carry out reactions that would otherwise be difficult to run under normal conditions. Due to their unique molecular recognition properties, cryptophanes also hold great promise as a potentially new way to study the binding of organic molecules with substrates, particularly as pertaining to biological and biochemical applications.