of the first guest increases the association constant of the second guest. While for negative allosteric systems the binding of the first guest decreases the association constant with the second. The dynamic nature of this type of molecular recognition is particularly important since it provides a mechanism to regulate binding in biological systems. Dynamic molecular recognition may enhance the ability to discriminate between several competing targets via the conformational proofreading mechanism. Dynamic molecular recognition is also being studied for application in highly functional chemical sensors and molecular devices Complexity A recent study based on molecular simulations and compliance constants describes molecular recognition as a phenomenon of organisation. Even for small molecules like carbohydrates, the recognition process can not be predicted or designed even assuming that each individual hydrogen bond's strength is exactly known. However, as Mobley et al. concluded, the accurate prediction of the molecular recognition events needs to go beyond the static snapshot of a single frame between the guest and the host. Entropies are key contributors to binding thermodynamics and need to be accounted for in order to predict more accurately the recognition process. Entropies are rarely observable in single bound structures (static snapshot). In proteins, highly-specific recognition can be achieved by evolutionary fine-tuning of chemical interactions, conformational changes, and entropy contributions. Intragenic complementation Jehle pointed out that, when immersed in a liquid and intermingled with other molecules, charge fluctuation forces favor the association of identical molecules as nearest neighbors. In accord with this principle, the multiple copies of a polypeptide encoded by a gene often undergo molecular recognition with each other to form an ordered multi-polypeptide protein structure. When such a protein is formed from polypeptides produced by two different mutant alleles of a particular gene, the protein composed of a mixture of polypeptides may exhibit greater functional activity than the multi-polypeptide protein formed by each of the mutants alone. In such a case, the phenomenon is referred to as intragenic complementation. Intragenic complementation (also called inter-allelic complementation) has been demonstrated in many different genes in a variety of organisms. Crick and Orgel analyzed of the results of such studies and came to the conclusion that intragenic complementation, in general, arises from the interaction of differently defective polypeptide monomers when they form an ordered aggregate they called a “multimer.” See also Journal of Molecular Recognition SAMPL Challenge Noncovalent interactions Supramolecular chemistry Allostery Cooperativity Molecular assembler References External