The adhesion of polyurethane coatings to polyester fabrics depends on the strength of interactions at the interface between these materials. To increase these interactions, macrocyclic ligands such as calixarenes, resorcinarenes and pyrogallolarenes have been fixed on the surface of polyester fabrics. These molecules have two well-separated regions. One possesses hydrophobic and the other hydrophilic properties. The hydrophobic part is used for the fixation of the molecules on the polyester surface. The hydroxyl groups of the hydrophilic part obviously interact with the urethane groups of the polyurethane coating. The increase in adhesion depends on the chemical nature of the macrocyclic molecule on the fiber surface. (C) Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, 2010