This book is a self-contained introduction to the theory of atomic motion in proteins and nucleic acids. An understanding of such motion is essential because it plays a crucially important role in biological activity. The authors, both of whom are well known for their work in this field, describe in detail the major theoretical methods that are likely to be useful in the computer-aided design of drugs, enzymes and other molecules. A variety of theoretical and experimental studies is described and these are critically analyzed to provide a comprehensive picture of dynamic aspects of biomolecular structure and function. The book will be of interest to graduate students and research workers in structural biochemistry (X-ray diffraction and NMR), theoretical chemistry (liquids and polymers), biophysics, enzymology, molecular biology, pharmaceutical chemistry, genetic engineering and biotechnology.

The fourth edition of this well-known textbook discusses the key methods used in organic synthesis, showing the value and scope of these methods and how they are used in the synthesis of complex molecules. All the text from the third edition has been revised, to produce a modern account of traditional methods and an up-to-date description of recent advancements in synthetic chemistry since the previous edition. A new chapter on the functionalisation of alkenes has been included and greater emphasis on highly stereoselective reactions and radical chemistry has been placed. Reference style has been improved to include footnotes on each page, allowing easy and rapid access to the primary literature. The book will be of significant interest to chemistry and biochemistry students at advanced undergraduate and graduate level, as well as researchers in academia and industry who wish to familiarise themselves with modern synthetic methods.

An understanding of organic reaction mechanisms is an essential part of any undergraduate chemistry course. This book describes the principles that govern chemical reactivity, and shows how these principles can be used to make predictions about the mechanisms and outcomes of chemical reactions. Molecular orbital theory is used to provide up-to-date explanations of chemical reactivity, in an entirely non-mathematical approach suited to organic chemists. A valuable section explains the use of curly arrows, vital for describing reaction mechanisms. A whole chapter is devoted to exploring the thought processes involved in predicting the mechanisms of unfamiliar reactions. Each chapter is followed by a summary of the important points and a selection of problems to help the reader make sure that the material in that chapter has been assimilated. The book concludes with a comprehensive glossary of technical terms. This text will be of valuable for first- and second-year chemistry undergraduates studying organic chemistry.

The book focuses on main aspects of chemical reaction, i.e. principle, mechanism and applications of synthetic utility. The content is explained in an easy and simple language. It will be a good source of information for fundamental knowledge of organic synthesis to students at undergraduate level as well as industrial chemist.

The origin of life from inanimate matter has been the focus of much research for decades, both experimentally and philosophically. Luisi takes the reader through the consecutive stages from prebiotic chemistry to synthetic biology, uniquely combining both approaches. This book presents a systematic course discussing the successive stages of self-organisation, emergence, self-replication, autopoiesis, synthetic compartments and construction of cellular models, in order to demonstrate the spontaneous increase in complexity from inanimate matter to the first cellular life forms. A chapter is dedicated to each of these steps, using a number of synthetic and biological examples. With end-of-chapter review questions to aid reader comprehension, this book will appeal to graduate students and academics researching the origin of life and related areas such as evolutionary biology, biochemistry, molecular biology, biophysics and natural sciences.

This 1994 book is based on a series of six lectures delivered at the University of Sienna under the auspices of the Lezioni Lincee. The content of the book reflects and delineates the author's career in biochemical research. The lectures revolve around the special role which bound carbohydrates play in nature. Also discussed are the properties of membrane glycoproteins, involved in the resistance of cells to drugs. The metabolism of sugars and sialic acids, which form a pivotal role in the author's research, are covered in detail. The book chronicles just some of the huge advances which have been made in biochemistry over the past few decades and will prove an invaluable and entertaining first hand account for researchers and graduate students.

This book describes the experience over 25 years of the senior author with the chemistry of organic free radicals. It begins with a mechanistic study of industrial importance on the pyrolysis of chlorinated alkanes. It continues with a theory on the biosynthesis of phenolate derived alkaloids involving phenolate radical coupling. There follows 20 years of practical work to prove the theory correct, especially in the case of morphine alkaloids. The book then describes the work on nitrile photolysis (Barton reaction) which involved the invention of new radical chemistry leading to a simple synthesis of the important hormone, aldosterone. There follows a description of the invention of an important new method for the deoxygenation of biologically important molecules, especially sugars and nucleosides, using radical chemistry applied to thiocarbonyl derivatives. Some years later, in a logical extension to carboxylic acids, another new reaction was invented which provides carbon, nitrogen, oxygen and other radicals under mild conditions. A final chapter summarizes recent applications of thiocarbonyl group derived radical reactions by other authors.