Supramolecular chemistry or, according to the definition of Jean-Marie Lehn, "chemistry beyond the molecule"  is the basis for the development of nanotechnologies.

The ability to control intermolecular interactions which govern molecular recognition processes is important both for material science  (sensors, conductivity, magnetism, non-linear optics, etd.) that for biology (receptor-protein bonds, enzyme-substrate recognotion, etc.). The DSCF has numerous research lines in this field.