Tris(2-pyridylmethyl)amines as emerging scaffold in supramolecular chemistry

tris-(2-Pyridylmethyl)amine (usually abbreviated as TPA or TPMA) are ligands which are emerging in many fields of chemistry because of their ability to form stable and catalytically active complexes with a wide variety of metals. While the applications in catalysis began soon after the synthesis of the first metal complexes, studies in supramolecular chemistry are more recent and they often take advantage from their stereodynamic nature. This review surveys TPMA applications as: i) anion sensors, ii) biochemical sensors, iii) molecular switches, iv) chiral probes and as v) building blocks in the synthesis of supramolecular cages.