Synopses & Reviews
One of the most active areas of contemporary organic chemistry involves the search for new catalysts that borrow concepts, strategies and even components from enzymes but yet are not to be found in nature. Such artificial enzymes not only give enormous insights into the mechanisms of enzyme catalysis but also offer the potential for catalyzing a wide range of chemical reactions that have no counterpart in nature. In Molecular Design and Bioorganic Catalysis, leaders in the field of bioorganic chemistry discuss the state of the art in artificial enzymes and possible future research directions. The many facets of the field are represented, including protein engineering, catalytic antibodies, RNA catalysis, enzymes in organic solvents, micellar catalysis, and general supramolecular catalysis. Particular emphasis is placed on a discussion of the strengths and weaknesses of each strategy and what can be learned from a candid assessment of the present achievements of the different approaches.
Table of Contents
Preface. The Site of Cleavage of Pyranoside Acetals: Endo vs. Exocyclic Cleavage; J.L. Liras, E.V. Anslyn. Vitamin K Mechanism of Action and Its Bearing on Vitamin E; P. Dowd, et al. Unnatural Amino Acids for the Design of Functional Proteins: Biomimetic Catalysis Using Coenzyme-Amino Acids; B. Imperali, et al. Nonconventional Approaches to Enzyme-Catalyzed Peptide Synthesis; H.-D. Jakubke, et al. Alkaline-Earth Metal Ion Catalysis of Ester Cleavage; R. Cacciapaglia, L. Mandolini. A Study of the Catalytic Properties of Some Hydrogen Bonding Receptors; C. Raposo, et al. Design, Synthesis, and Study of Artificial beta-Sheets; J.S. Nowick, et al. Anion Recognition by Neutral Receptors; D.M. Rudkevich, et al. Enzymes in the Continuous Gas Phase Bioreactor; F. Yang, A.J. Russell. Foldable Anion Hosts Based on Bicyclic Guanidinium Anchor Groups; F.P. Schmidtchen, et al. Transition Metal Ion-Based Supramolecular Catalysts; P. Scrimin, et al. Neutral Organoboron Receptors with Oriented Dipoles; B.D. Smith, et al. Regulation of Protein Synthesis by Antitumor Peptides; P.L. Toogood. Author Index. Subject Index.