acids. Thus, it is not surprising that great attention has been devoted by biologists, chemists, and physical chemists to the general phenomenon of macromolecular recognition in order to gain a better understanding of the principles, forces, and energetics that de­ termine the often remarkable specificities of such interactions as those of enzymes and their substrates and inhibitors, antibodies with anti­ gens, hormones with their receptors, and DNA with drugs. These studies have allowed the unraveling of some basic principles of mol­ ecular recognition, such as complementarity, specificity, and dynam­ ics of the interacting species, and at the same time have led to development of analytical and separation techniques based on bio­ logical specificity (e. g. , affinity chromatography and other bioaffinity methods). This volume was assembled to address current research and developing ideas in biomolecular recognition through the contribu­ tions presented at the Conference on "Mechanisms of Recognition in Biological Macromolecules" held in Siena, Italy, September 4-6,1986. The Conference was cosponsored by the National Research Council of Italy, the Italian Biochemical Society, the University of Siena, and the International Interest Group in Biorecognition Technology.

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