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Gerhard Quinkert, M.
Volkan Kisakürek (Eds.)
Essays in Contemporary Chemistry: From Molecular Structure towards Biology
ISBN: 3-906390-28-4
Hardcover
472 pages
December 2001
Description
In this volume, internationally renowned chemists recount
their roles in the progress of chemistry research toward elucidation of
biological processes. Beginning with a historical perspective on the development
of X-ray crystallography, the reader is regaled with first-hand accounts of
research milestones. Included are descriptions of the cutting-edge
nuclear-magnetic-resonance and electron-paramagnetic-resonance spectroscopic
techniques, the dynamics of ultra-fast reactions, and the central problem of
molecular oxygen activation in biological processes. The roles of chiral
auxiliaries in organic synthesis and of photochemistry in natural product
synthesis are told, and innovations in combinatorial synthesis approaches are
described. Contemporary issues in molecular recognition and modulation of
molecular function are addressed, concluding with a missive regarding how the
frontiers of medical ethics may be breached by molecular manipulations. The
contributors, who number among the finest scientists in the world, including two
Nobel Prize winners, are Peter B. Dervan, Jack D. Dunitz, Christian Griesinger,
Jean-Marie Lehn, Thomas F. Prisner, Gerhard Quinkert, Peter G. Schultz, Helmut
Schwarz, Dieter Seebach, and Ahmed Zewail. Additionally, there is a prologue by
Albert Eschenmoser, for whom this collection was conceived, and an epilogue that
contains facsimiles of notes from his landmark lecture 'Synthesis of Co-Enzyme
B12: A Vehicle for Teaching Organic Synthesis'. This book is definitely a must
for all who want to read, or to read again, where we stand in our chemical
comprehension of the fascinating relationship between chemical structure and
biological processes, how we got here, and what the future might hold.
Index
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Prologue: The Gold-Mine Parable (Albert Eschenmoser).
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Looking Backwards, Glancing Sideways: Half a Century of
Chemical Crystallography (Jack D. Dunitz).
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NMR Spectroscopy as a Tool for the Determination of
Structure and Dynamics of Molecules (Christian Griesinger).
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New Methods in Electron Paramagnetic Resonance
Spectroscopy for Structure and Function Determination in Biological Systems
(Thomas F. Prisner).
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Reactivity Concepts for Oxidation Catalysis: Spin and
Stoichiometry Problems in Dioxygen Activation (Detlef Schröder & Helmut
Schwarz).
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Femtosecond Activation of Reactions: The Concepts of
Nonergodicon Behavior and Reduced-Space Dynamics (Klaus B. Møller & Ahmed H.
Zewail).
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Photochemistry Meets Natural-Product Synthesis (Gerhard
Quinkert & Knut Eis).
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TADDOL and Its Derivatives — Our Dream of Universal
Chiral Auxiliaries (Dieter Seebach, et al.).
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Dynamic Combinatorial Chemistry and Virtual Combinatorial
Libraries (Jean-Marie Lehn).
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The Importance of β-Alanine for Recognition of the Minor
Groove of DNA (Peter B. Dervan & Adam R. Urbach).
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Generating New Molecular Function: A Lesson from Nature
(David R. Liu & Peter G. Schultz).
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Ethical Limits to 'Molecular Medicine' (Ernst-Ludwig
Winnacker).
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Epilogue: Synthesis of the Coenzyme B12: A Vehicle for
the Teaching of Organic Synthesis (Albert Eschenmoser).
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