Renowned experts give all essential aspects of the techniques and applications of graft copolymers based on polysaccharides. Polysaccharides are the most abundant natural organic materials and polysaccharide based graft copolymers are of great importance and widely used in various fields. Natural polysaccharides have recently received more attention due to their advantages over synthetic polymers by being non-toxic, biodegradable and available at low cost. Modification of polysaccharides through graft copolymerization improves the properties of polysaccharides. Grafting is known to improve the characteristic properties of the backbones. Such properties include water repellency, thermal stability, flame resistance, dye-ability and resistance towards acid-base attack and abrasion. Polysaccharides and their graft copolymers find extensive applications in diversified fields. Applications of modified polysaccharides include drug delivery devices, controlled release of fungicides, selective water absorption from oil-water emulsions, purification of water etc.

In this fast moving field the main goal of this volume is to provide up-to-date information on the molecular and functional properties and pharmacology of mammalian TRP channels. Leading experts in the field describe properties of a single TRP protein/channel or portray more general principles of TRP function and important pathological situations linked to mutations of TRP genes or their altered expression. Thereby this volume on Transient Receptor Potential (TRP) Channels provides valuable information for readers with different expectations and backgrounds, for those who are approaching this field of research as well as for those wanting to make a trip to TRPs."

Published in 2014, Protein Deimination in Human Health and Disease was the first book on this novel post-translational modification, in which selected positively-charged arginine amino acids are converted to neutral citrulline amino acids by the peptidyl-arginine deiminase (PAD) family of enzymes. This area of research continues to expand rapidly, necessitating the need for this second edition. Chronicling the latest inflammatory, epigenetic, neurodegenerative, and carcinogenic processes, Protein Deimination in Human Health and Disease, Second Edition, updates the latest advances in deimination research, including new information on PAD enzyme structure and activity, and how PAD knock-out animals are being used to study known and newly-discovered links to various human diseases. The first edition outlined what was known about citrullinated proteins in normal tissues such as skin and hair, as well as in maladies such as rheumatoid arthritis (RA), multiple sclerosis (MS), Alzheimer's disease (AD), glaucoma, peripheral nerve injury, neonatal hypoxic brain damage, and breast cancer. This second edition addresses numerous additional disorders such as diabetes, asthma, traumatic brain injury, inflammatory bowel disease, lupus, bone disease, heart failure, fronto-temporal dementia, and prostate and colon cancer. It also provides updates on the deimination research covering the three seminal diseases first linked to this process (RA, MS and AD), and details how auto-antibodies against citrullinated proteins contribute to disease. In addition, new hypotheses on the possible pathologic mechanisms of citrullinated myelin basic protein and glial fibrillary acidic protein are also proposed. This second edition also outlines the latest developments in therapeutic strategies, including the use of new PAD antagonists and innovative techniques such as micro-vescicles and stem cells as possible mechanisms to treat these conditions.

The nature and directionality of halogen bonding; the sigma hole, by Timothy Clark, Peter Politzer, Jane S. Murray Solid-state NMR study of halogen-bonded adducts, by David Bryce Infrared and Raman measurements of halogen bonding in cryogenic solutions, by Wouter Herrebout Halogen bonding in the gas phase, by Anthony C. Legon Halogen bonding in solution, Mate Erdelyi Unconventional motifs for halogen bonding, by Kari Rissanen Halogen bonding in supramolecular synthesis, Christer Aakeroey Halogen bond in synthetic organic chemistry, Stefan M. Huber Anion recognition in solution via halogen bonding, Mark S. Taylor Anion transport with halogen bonds, by Stefan Matile Halogen bonding in silico drug design, by Pavel Hobza, Kevin Riley Biological halogen bonds: An old dog with new tricks, by P. Shing Ho Principles and applications of halogen bonding in medicinal chemistry, by Frank M. Boeckler Halogen bond in molecular conductors and magnets, by Marc Foumigue Halogen bonding towards design of organic phosphors, by Wei Jun Jin Halogen bond in photoresponsive materials, by Pierangelo Metrangolo, Giuseppe Resnati, Arri Priimagi

With the rapid development of proteomic technologies in the life sciences and in clinical applications, many bioinformatics methodologies, databases, and software tools have been developed to support comparative proteomics study. In Bioinformatics for Comparative Proteomics, experts in the field highlight the current status, challenges, open problems, and future trends for developing bioinformatics tools and resources for comparative proteomics research in order to deliver a definitive reference providing both the breadth and depth needed on the subject. Structured in three major sections, this detailed volume covers basic bioinformatics frameworks relating to comparative proteomics, bioinformatics databases and tools for proteomics data analysis, and integrated bioinformatics systems and approaches for studying comparative proteomics in the systems biology context. Written for the highly successful Methods in Molecular Biology(TM) series, the contributions in this book provide the meticulous, step-by-step description and implementation advice that is crucial for getting optimal results in the lab. Comprehensive and easy-to-use, Bioinformatics for Comparative Proteomics serves all readers who wish to learn about state-of-the-art bioinformatics databases and tools, novel computational methods and future trends in proteomics data analysis, and comparative proteomics in systems biology.

This is the third of three planned volumes in the Methods in Enzymology series on the topic of stem cells. This volume is a unique anthology of stem cell techniques written by experts from the top laboratories in the world. The contributors not only have hands-on experience in the field but often have developed the original approaches that they share with great attention to detail. The chapters provide a brief review of each field followed by a "cookbook" and handy illustrations. The collection of protocols includes the isolation and maintenance of stem cells from various species using "conventional" and novel methods, such as derivation of ES cells from single blastomeres, differentiation of stem cells into specific tissue types, isolation and maintenance of somatic stem cells, stem cell-specific techniques and approaches to tissue engineering using stem cell derivatives. The reader will find that some of the topics are covered by more than one group of authors and complement each other. Comprehensive step-by-step protocols and informative illustrations can be easily followed by even the least experienced researchers in the field, and allow the setup and troubleshooting of these state-of-the-art technologies in other laboratories.
* Provides complete coverage spanning from derivation/isolation of stem cells, and including differentiation protocols, characterization and maintenance of derivatives and tissue engineering
* Presents the latest most innovative technologies
* Addresses therapeutic relevance including FDA compliance and tissue engineering

Designed as a research-level guide to current strategies and methods of membrane protein production on the small to intermediate scale, this practice-oriented book provides detailed, step-by-step laboratory protocols as well as an explanation of the principles behind each method, together with a discussion of its relative advantages and disadvantages.
Following an introductory section on current challenges in membrane protein production, the book goes on to look at expression systems, emerging methods and approaches, and protein specific considerations.
Case studies illustrate how to select or sample the optimal production system for any desired membrane protein, saving both time and money on the laboratory as well as the technical production scale.
Unique in its coverage of "difficult" proteins with large membrane-embedded domains, proteins from extremophiles, peripheral membrane proteins, and protein fragments.

Plants play a key role in purifying the biosphere of the toxic effects of industrial activity. This book shows how systematic application of the results of investigations into the metabolism of xenobiotics (foreign, often toxic substances) in plants could make a vastly increased contribution to planetary well-being. Deep physiological knowledge gained from an accumulation of experimental data enables the great differences between the detoxifying abilities of different plants for compounds of different chemical nature to be optimally exploited. Hence planting could be far more systematically adapted to actual environmental needs than is actually the case at present.

The book could form the basis of specialist courses in universities and polytechnics devoted to environmental management, and advanced courses in plant physiology and biochemistry, for botany and integrative biology students. Fundamental plant physiology and biochemistry from the molecular level to whole plants and ecosystems are interwoven in a powerful and natural way, making this a unique contribution to the field.

The critically acclaimed laboratory standard, Methods in Enzymology, is one of the most highly respected publications in the field of biochemistry. Since 1955, each volume has been eagerly awaited, frequently consulted, and praised by researchers and reviewers alike. The series contains much material still relevant today - truly an essential publication for researchers in all fields of life sciences.

In the past decade, there has been an explosion of progress in understanding the roles of carbohydrates in biological systems. This explosive progress was made with the efforts in determining the roles of carbohydrates in immunology, neurobiology and many other disciplines, examining each unique system and employing new technology. This volume represents the second of three in the Methods in Enzymology series, including Glycobiology (vol. 415) and Glycomics (vol. 416), dedicated to disseminating information on methods in determining the biological roles of carbohydrates. These books are designed to provide an introduction of new methods to a large variety of readers who would like to participate in and contribute to the advancement of glycobiology. The methods covered include structural analysis of carbohydrates, biological and chemical synthesis of carbohydrates, expression and determination of ligands for carbohydrate-binding proteins, gene expression profiling including micro array, and generation of gene knockout mice and their phenotype analyses.

Interplay between Metal Ions and Nucleic Acids provides in an authoritative and timely manner in 12 stimulating chapters, written by 24 internationally recognized experts from 8 nations, and supported by nearly 1500 references, about 20 tables, and 125 illustrations, many in color, a most up-to-date view on metal ion-nucleic acid interactions; the characterization of which is covered in solution and in the solid state. The volume concentrates on modern developments encompassing topics in the wide range from G-quadruplexes via DNAzymes, catalysis at the DNA scaffold, and metal-mediated base pairs to peptide nucleic acids (PNAs) being thus of relevance, e.g., for chemistry and nanotechnology but also for molecular biology and (genetic) diagnostics.

This volume includes, in an integrated way, modern computational studies of nucleic acids, ranging from advanced electronic structure quantum chemical calculations through explicit solvent molecular dynamics (MD) simulations up to mesoscopic modelling, with the main focus given to the MD field.It gives an equal emphasis to the leading methods and applications while successes as well as pitfalls of the computational techniques are discussed. The systems and problems studied include: Accurate calculations of base pairing energies; Electronic properties of nucleic acids and electron transfer, through various types of nucleic acid; and, Calculating DNA elasticity. This book is ideally suited to academics and researchers in organic and computational chemistry as well as biochemistry and particularly those interested in the molecular modelling of nucleic acids.Besides the state-of-the art science, the book also provides introductory information to non-specialists to enter this field.

In the past decade, there has been an explosion of progress in understanding the roles of carbohydrates in biological systems. This explosive progress was made with the efforts in determining the roles of carbohydrates in immunology, neurobiology and many other disciplines, examining each unique system and employing new technology. This volume represents the first of three in the Methods in Enzymology series, including Glycomics (vol. 416) and Functional Glycomics (vol. 417), dedicated to disseminating information on methods in determining the biological roles of carbohydrates. These books are designed to provide an introduction of new methods to a large variety of readers who would like to participate in and contribute to the advancement of glycobiology. The methods covered include structural analysis of carbohydrates, biological and chemical synthesis of carbohydrates, expression and determination of ligands for carbohydrate-binding proteins, gene expression profiling including micro array, and generation of gene knockout mice and their phenotype analyses.

In the past decade, there has been an explosion of progress in understanding the roles of carbohydrates in biological systems. This explosive progress was made with the efforts in determining the roles of carbohydrates in immunology, neurobiology and many other disciplines, examining each unique system and employing new technology. This volume represents the second of three in the Methods in Enzymology series, including Glycobiology (vol. 415) and Functional Glycomics (vol. 417), dedicated to disseminating information on methods in determining the biological roles of carbohydrates. These books are designed to provide an introduction of new methods to a large variety of readers who would like to participate in and contribute to the advancement of glycobiology. The methods covered include structural analysis of carbohydrates, biological and chemical synthesis of carbohydrates, expression and determination of ligands for carbohydrate-binding proteins, gene expression profiling including micro array, and generation of gene knockout mice and their phenotype analyses.

This series is world-renowned as the leading compilation of current reviews of this vast field. Internationally acclaimed for more than forty years, The Alkaloids: Chemistry and Biology, founded by the late Professor R.H.F. Manske, continues to provide outstanding coverage of this rapidly expanding field. Each volume provides, through its distinguished authors, up-to-date and detailed coverage of particular classes or sources of alkaloids.
* Up-to-date reviews on a large and very important group of natural products from both a chemical and biological perspective.
* Comprehensive dynamic reviews written by the leading authors in the respective fields.
* Broader coverage than before on the biological aspects.

This review series covers trends in modern biotechnology, including all aspects of this interdisciplinary technology, requiring knowledge, methods, and expertise from chemistry, biochemistry, microbiology, genetics, chemical engineering and computer science.

"How did life originate and why were left-handed molecules selected for its architecture?" This question of high public and interdisciplinary scientific interest is the central theme of this book. It is widely known that in processes triggering the origin of life on Earth, the equal occurrence, the parity between left-handed amino acids and their right-handed mirror images, was violated. The balance was inevitably tipped to the left as a result of which life's proteins today exclusively implement the left form of amino acids.

Written in an engaging style, this book describes how the basic building blocks of life, the amino acids, formed. After a comprehensible introduction to stereochemistry, the author addresses the inherent property of amino acids in living organisms, namely the preference for left-handedness. What was the cause for the violation of parity of amino acids in the emergence of life on Earth? All the fascinating models proposed by physicists, chemists and biologist are vividly presented including the scientific conflicts. The author describes the attempt to verify any of those models with the chirality module of the ROSETTA mission, a probe built and launched with the mission to land on a comet and analyse whether there are chiral organic compounds that could have been brought to the Earth by cometary impacts.

A truly interdisciplinary astrobiology book, "Amino Acids and the Asymmetry of Life" will fascinate students, researchers and all readers with backgrounds in natural sciences.

With a foreword by Henri B. Kagan."

Springer Handbook of Enzymes provides data on enzymes sufficiently well characterized. It offers concise and complete descriptions of some 5,000 enzymes and their application areas. Data sheets are arranged in their EC-Number sequence and the volumes themselves are arranged according to enzyme classes. This new, second edition reflects considerable progress in enzymology: many enzymes are newly classified or reclassified. Each entry is correlated with references and one or more source organisms. New datafields are created: application and engineering (for the properties of enzymes where the sequence has been changed). The total amount of material contained in the Handbook has more than doubled so that the complete second edition consists of 39 volumes as well as a Synonym Index. In addition, starting in 2009, all newly classified enzymes are treated in Supplement Volumes. Springer Handbook of Enzymes is an ideal source of information for researchers in biochemistry, biotechnology, organic and analytical chemistry, and food sciences, as well as for medicinal applications.

The critically acclaimed laboratory standard for more than forty years, Methods in Enzymology is one of the most highly respected publications in the field of biochemistry. Since 1955, each volume has been eagerly awaited, frequently consulted, and praised by researchers and reviewers alike. Now with more than 300 volumes (all of them still in print), the series contains much material still relevant today-truly an essential publication for researchers in all fields of life sciences.

The NATO ARW "Molecular Self-Organization in Micro-, Nano-, and Macro- Dimensions: From Molecules to Water, to Nanoparticles, DNA and Proteins" to commemorate Professor Alexander S. Davydov was held in Kiev, Ukraine, on 8-12 June, 2008, at the Bogolyubov Institute for Theoretical Physics of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine. Theobjective ofthisNATOARWistounveilandformulatetheprincipalfeatures that govern myriads of the molecular self-organization processes in micro-, nano-, and macro-dimensions from the following key representatives such as liquid - ter and aqueous solutions, and molecular liquids, nanodots, nanoparticles including gold, solitons, biomolecules such as DNA and proteins, biopolymers and bios- sors, catalysis, molecular modeling, molecular devices, and thin ?lms, and to offer another, more advanced directions in computational, experimental, and technolo- cal areas of nano- and bioscience towards engineering novel and powerful molecular self-organized assemblies with tailored properties. Nanoscience is indeed one of the most important research and development fr- tiers in modern science. Simplistically, nanoscience is the science of small particles of materials of a size of nanometre. Molecular nanoscience and nanotechnology have brought to us the unprecedented experimental control of the structure of matter with novel extraordinary properties that open new horizons and new opportunities, and new ways to make things, particularly in our everyday life, to heal our bodies, and to care of the environment. Unfortunately, they have also brought unwelcome advances in weaponry and opened yet more ways to foul up the world on an en- mous scale.

The ability of polypeptides to form alternatively folded, polymeric structures such as amyloids and related aggregates is being increasingly recognized as a major new frontier in protein research. This new volume of Methods in Enzymology along with Part C (volume 413) on Amyloid, Prions and other Protein Aggregates continue in the tradition of the first volume (309) in containing detailed protocols and methodological insights, provided by leaders in the field, into the latest methods for investigating the structures, mechanisms of formation, and biological activities of this important class of protein assemblies.
* Presents detailed protocols
* Includes troubleshooting tips
* Provides coverage on structural biology, computational methods, and biology

The book summarizes important aspects of cheminformatics that are relevant for natural product research. It highlights cheminformatics tools that help to match natural products with their respective biological targets or off-targets, and discusses the potential and limitations of this approach.

Population genomics is a recently emerged discipline, which aims at understanding how evolutionary processes influence genetic variation across genomes. Today, in the era of cheaper next-generation sequencing, it is no longer as daunting to obtain whole genome data for any species of interest and population genomics is now conceivable in a wide range of fields, from medicine and pharmacology to ecology and evolutionary biology. However, because of the lack of reference genome and of enough "a priori" data on the polymorphism, population genomics analyses of populations will still involve higher constraints for researchers working on non-model organisms, as regards the choice of the genotyping/sequencing technique or that of the analysis methods. Therefore, "Data Production and Analysis in Population Genomics" purposely puts emphasis on protocols and methods that are applicable to species where genomic resources are still scarce. It is divided into three convenient sections, each one tackling one of the main challenges facing scientists setting up a population genomics study. The first section helps devising a sampling and/or experimental design suitable to address the biological question of interest. The second section addresses how to implement the best genotyping or sequencing method to obtain the required data given the time and cost constraints as well as the other genetic resources already available, Finally, the last section is about making the most of the (generally huge) dataset produced by using appropriate analysis methods in order to reach a biologically relevant conclusion. Written in the successful "Methods in Molecular Biology " series format, chapters include introductions to their respective topics, lists of the necessary materials and reagents, step-by-step, readily reproducible protocols, advice on methodology and implementation, and notes on troubleshooting and avoiding known pitfalls.

Authoritative and easily accessible, "Data Production and Analysis in Population Genomics" serves a wide readership by providing guidelines to help choose and implement the best experimental or analytical strategy for a given purpose.

Experts from around the world review the current field of the immunobiology of heat shock proteins, and provide a comprehensive account of how these molecules are spearheading efforts in the understanding of various pathways of the immune system. This one-stop resource contains numerous images to both help illustrate the research on heat shock proteins, and better clarify the field for the non-expert. Heat shock proteins (HSPs) were discovered in 1962 and were quickly recognized for their role in protecting cells from stress. Twenty years later, the immunogenicity of a select few HSPs was described, and for the past 30 years, these findings have been applied to numerous branches of immunology, including tumor immunology and immunosurveillance, immunotherapy, etiology of autoimmunity, immunotherapy of infectious diseases, and expression of innate receptors. While HSPs can be used to manipulate immune responses by exogenous administration, they appear to be involved in initiation of de novo immune responses to cancer and likely in the maintenance of immune homeostasis.

Alkaloids are a major group of natural products derived from a wide variety of organisms, which are used as medicinal and biological agents. This series is world-renowned as the leading compilation of current reviews of this vast field.
Internationally acclaimed for more than forty years, The Alkaloids, founded by the late Professor R.H.F. Manske, continues to provide outstanding coverage of the rapidly expanding field of the chemotaxonomy, structure elucidation, synthesis, biosynthesis, and biology of all classes of alkaloids from higher and lower plants, marine organisms, or various terrestrial animals. Each volume provides, through its distinguished authors, up-to-date and detailed coverage of particular classes or sources of alkaloids. Over the years, this series has become the standard in natural product chemistry to which all other book series aspire. The Alkaloids: Chemistry and Biology endures as an essential reference for all natural product chemists and biologists who have an interest in alkaloids, their diversity, and their unique biological profile.
* * Indispensable reference work written by leading experts in the field
* * Provides up-to-date, timely reviews on compounds and classes of great interest
* * Covers synthesis, biosynthesis, biology, as well as isolation and structure elucidation
* * An essential research tool for anyone working with alkaloids from a chemical or biological perspective