This informative book focuses on the nutritional value of potatoes and ways to improve it. With the world reeling under the burden of an ever-growing population, there is a pressing need for affordable and nutritious staples to feed the billions. Potatoes are grown in a broad range of countries around the world and can substantially contribute to future food security. Given the increasing consumption of potatoes, there is a need for a book that compiles information on and raises awareness of their nutritional value, while also encouraging their consumption. The respective chapters of this book cover the chemical composition, structure and health benefits of potatoes, as well as genetic modifications used to alter the concentration of relevant chemical compounds in them. The book provides an overview of potatoes as a nutrient-dense crop, and discusses important aspects such as the role of potatoes in human diet, how they can improve the overall health of individuals, their role in addressing malnutrition etc. Its chapters deal with topics such as carbohydrates and glycemic index, dietary fibers, vitamins, proteins, phenols, carotenoids, anthocyanins, minerals, lipids, glycoalkaloids, new health-promoting compounds, the composition and utilization of potato peel, nutritional significance of potato products, and potato probiotics. Given its scope, the book will be of interest to undergraduate students, graduate students and researchers in plant physiology and biochemistry, plant genetic engineering, the food sciences and agriculture, as well as industry partners in related fields.

This unique book covers the latest developments in coupling and decoupling of biomolecules containing functionalized carbohydrate components, being one of the first collections in this important area of applied medicinal chemistry. Connecting molecules, often referred as bio-conjugation, has become one of the most often performed procedures in modern medicinal chemistry. Sometimes, when the connected molecules are not useful anymore, they must be disconnected. The molecules that must be connected (coupled) may belong to both small and large molecules and include such constructs as glycoproteins, glycopeptides and glycans. In this work, more than 15 experts address a comprehensive range of potential and current uses of in vitro and in vivo bio-conjugation methodologies, leading to a variety of glycoconjugates. The analytical aspects of bio-conjugation are also here discussed. Medicinal and organic chemists from graduate level onwards will understand the appeal of this important book.

This book effectively links the latest scientific advances to current technological applications of polymers, mainly focusing on biodegradable polymers obtained from biomass. The individual chapters were written by academic and industry researchers alike, introducing readers to topics that have received little attention in the literature to date. Key topics covered include polymers used in various areas such as food packaging, pharmaceuticals, energy production and the cosmetics industry, as well as the treatment of aqueous effluents.

This book provides a detailed overview of the current understanding of the metabolic system of starch biosynthesis and degradation in plants. The focus is on new topics regarding the functional interaction between multiple enzymes and the initiation process of starch biosynthesis, which are essential for further understanding of related metabolic features. The book also explains and discusses the distinct structures of amylopectin and amylose and the crystalline structure of starch granules. At the same time, readers will be made aware of areas where further research remains to be done, such as the regulation of starch metabolism, the fine structure of starch molecules, and the manipulation of the structure and functional properties of starch by genetic and molecular technology. Also described are aspects of the biosynthetic machinery of starch, the structure and metabolism of which have developed and been refined during the process of plant evolution. In addition, recent approaches to producing novel starches with distinct physicochemical and functional properties in gene-modified mutants and transgenic plants for industrial applications are introduced. Finally, the book elaborates on the unresolved topics, necessary approaches and future prospects to achieve a complete understanding of the regulation of starch metabolism. This volume is of great value for general scientists, students and anyone wishing to understand the specific and complicated events of starch metabolism and biotechnology. It will be especially useful for food scientists and engineers in academia and industry.

This book summarizes the recent advances in applications of starch in state-of-the-art drug carriers (hydrogel, micro- and nano-particulate carriers) with stimulus-responsive and target-specific properties. It also highlights the role of starch and its derivatives in transmucosal administration to improve the bioavailability of drugs. Further, it outlines the principles of effective, advanced, starch-based drug delivery systems and illustrates how these principles are key to the development of future drug delivery strategies. This interesting reference resource is useful for students, researchers and engineers in the fields of carbohydrate chemistry, polymer sciences and drug delivery.

Carbohydrate antigens on glycoconjugates of mammalian cells play crucial roles in various biological processes and are epitopes recognized by the immune system, as glycobiology has hugely been progressed during the past two decades. The book focuses on sialic acid-based xenoantigenes. In pig to human xenotransplantation, exposure of pig organs to human blood results in hyper acute rejection (HAR), caused by differences in carbohydrate epitopes between human and pig vascular endothelia. Although Gal-antigen as major antigen was eliminated, the remaining non-Gal antigens are considered to be xenoantigens. Sialosyl-Tn or Hanganutziu-Deicher (HD), are non-Gal antigens specific to natural antibodies in human. To overcome rejection responses such as HAR, studies of genes involved in carbohydrate antigens, causing xenoantigenicity, are necessary. Knowledge of pig glycosyltransferases are also useful to apply to xenoantigen masking or identification of the xenoantigenic sialylglycan(s). In the first chapter the screening for pig glycosyltransferase genes for xenoantigens is presented. In the chapter II to IV the cloning, characterization, and investigation of the regulatory mechanism of the pig CMAH gene in NeuGc biosynthesis is shown. Lastly, the effects of an alteration of pig glycosylation patterns on human serum-mediated cytotoxicity, caused by human sialyltransferases including hST6GalNAc IV is presented.

Medicinal chemistry is both science and art. The science of medicinal chemistry offers mankind one of its best hopes for improving the quality of life. The art of medicinal chemistry continues to challenge its practitioners with the need for both intuition and experience to discover new drugs. Hence sharing the experience of drug research is uniquely beneficial to the field of medicinal chemistry. Drug research requires interdisciplinary team-work at the interface between chemistry, biology and medicine. Therefore, the topic-related series Topics in Medicinal Chemistry covers all relevant aspects of drug research, e.g. pathobiochemistry of diseases, identification and validation of (emerging) drug targets, structural biology, drugability of targets, drug design approaches, chemogenomics, synthetic chemistry including combinatorial methods, bioorganic chemistry, natural compounds, high-throughput screening, pharmacological in vitro and in vivo investigations, drug-receptor interactions on the molecular level, structure-activity relationships, drug absorption, distribution, metabolism, elimination, toxicology and pharmacogenomics. In general, special volumes are edited by well known guest editors.

The current understanding of cholesterol transport has moved from a largely descriptive science into the molecular stage. Intracellular Cholesterol Trafficking reports on the current state of research and features sections on: The Regulation of ACAT and Intracellular Cholesterol Level Niemann-Pick Type C Disease Cholesterol Transport in Specialized Cells Sterol Carrier Protein-2 and Cholesterol Transport Proteins Caveolae and Caveolin Summary and Future Perspectives . Intracellular Cholesterol Trafficking is sure to appeal to cell biologists, biochemists, endocrinologists, hepatologists, and atherosclerosis researchers.

Cell surface molecules are critically important in regulating cell structure and function. Recent advances on the functional role of cell surface molecules, particularly glycoconjugates are presented in this book. Comprising of 22 chapters from the 2011 International Symposium on Biochemical Roles of Eukaryotic Cell Surface Macromolecules, it covers topics on the analysis of glycome, biophysical approaches to study cell surface molecules, glycoconjugate metabolism and its dysregulation, and molecular mechanisms involved in cell-cell and cell-matrix interaction.

More than just coincidence connects a Tate & Lyle lawsuit and artificial sweetener to Jamaican-born Chemist Bert Fraser-Reid. From his first experience of Chemistry through his diabetic father, to his determination and drive as a Chemistry student in Canada, Fraser-Reid weaves a remarkable tale integrating science, law and autobiographical anecdotes. This book arises from the lawsuit brought by Tate & Lyle against companies accused of infringing its patents for sucralose, the sweet ingredient in the artificial sweetener SPLENDA which is made by chlorinating sugar. From a 1958 undergraduate intern witnessing the pioneering experiments on sugar chlorination, to being the 1991 recipient of the world's premiere prize for carbohydrate chemistry, Fraser-Reid was groomed for his role as expert witness in the mentioned lawsuit. Nevertheless, it seems more than his career links Fraser-Reid to the case.

The book deals with polar effects in carbohydrates and how these effects control the stereochemistry of carbohydrate reactions. This is important for understanding the mechanisms of certain carbohydrate reactions, including enzymatic reactions such as glycosidases, a very important group of enzymes in living matter. It is also very useful for synthetic carbohydrate chemists who would like to synthesize stereoselectively certain classes of carbohydrates. This book will be a very important source of information for practicing synthetic carbohydrate chemists. The book will also be helpful for organic chemists, or for those studying glycobiology.

The series Topics in Heterocyclic Chemistry presents critical reviews on present and future trends in the research of heterocyclic compounds. Overall the scope is to cover topics dealing with all areas within heterocyclic chemistry, both experimental and theoretical, of interest to the general heterocyclic chemistry community. The series consists of topic related volumes edited by renowned editors with contributions of experts in the field. All chapters from Topics in Heterocyclic Chemistry are published Online First with an individual DOI. In references, Topics in Heterocyclic Chemistry is abbreviated as Top Heterocycl Chem and cited as a journal.

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.

Simple carbohydrates, complex oligosaccharides and polysaccharides all belong to a class of ubiquitous (macro)molecules that exhibit a wide range of biological functions, and the recent advent of enhanced enzymatic, chemical and analytical tools used to study these sugars has inaugurated a genuine explosion in the field of glycomics. Specifically, it has led to a deeper understanding of how specific sugar structures modulate cellular phenotypes, and that breakthrough has led to the discovery of new pharmaceuticals for the treatment of many serious diseases, such as cancer. The subsequent rapid expansion of this research holds high promise for future therapeutic regimens, and capillary electrophoresis (CE) refers to the range of related separation techniques that are integral to this vital research. CE uses narrow-bore fused-silica capillaries to separate a complex array of large and small molecules, and Capillary Electrophoresis of Carbohydrates offers a comprehensive look at the latest breakthroughs and improvements in CE and CE techniques applied to monosaccharides up to complex oligosaccharides and polysaccharides. It begins with an overview of the application of CE and CE- mass spectrometric in the analysis of simple carbohydrates without any previous derivatization step before discussing various detection techniques such as spectrophotometric detection, electrochemical detection and other less common techniques. It then covers in detail an array of related topics and numerous applications. It is an essential text for anyone exploring the myriad possibilities of this rapidly expanding field.

Over the past five years, the immense financial pressure on the development and manufacturing of biopharmaceuticals has resulted in the increasing use and acce- ance of disposables, which are discarded after harvest and therefore intended only for single use. In fact, such disposables are implemented in all the main bioprocess production stages today and an even higher growth than those in the biopharmac- tical market is predicted (reaching double figures). Alongside disposable filter capsules, membrane chromatography units, tubing, connectors, flexible containers processing or containing fluids, freezer systems, mixers and pumps, and fully c- trolled disposable bioreactors of up to 2,000 L culture volume are already available on the market. Numerous studies highlight the advantages of disposable bioreactors and reveal their potential for simple, safe and fast seed inoculum production, process devel- ment and small as well as middle volume production (e.g. bioactive substances, viruses for vaccines and gene therapies etc.). They suggest that such disposable bioreactors (typically characterized by the cultivation chamber or bag from plastic materials) may be advantageous for plant, animal and microbial cells. Running industrial activities such as CFD-modelling, development of single-use process monitoring and control technology, and standardized film formulations are attempting to resolve the limitations of the current disposable bioreactors. These achievements, along with substantial improvements in product yield, will reduce the use of stainless steel in the biomanufacturing facilities of the future.

The series Topics in Heterocyclic Chemistry presents critical reviews on present and future trends in the research of heterocyclic compounds. Overall the scope is to cover topics dealing with all areas within heterocyclic chemistry, both experimental and theoretical, of interest to the general heterocyclic chemistry community. The series consists of topic related volumes edited by renowned editors with contributions of experts in the field. All chapters from Topics in Heterocyclic Chemistry are published Online First with an individual DOI. In references, Topics in Heterocyclic Chemistry is abbreviated as Top Heterocycl Chem and cited as a journal

Knoevenagel Reaction of Unprotected Sugars, By M.-C. Scherrmann; Carbohydrate-Based Lactones: Synthesis and Applications, By N. M. Xavier, A. P. Rauter, and Y. Queneau; Heterogeneously-Catalyzed Conversion of Carbohydrates, By K. De Oliveira Vigier and F. Jerome; Palladium-Catalyzed Telomerization of Butadiene with Polyols: From Mono to Polysaccharides, By S. Bouquillon, J. Muzart, C. Pinel, and F. Rataboul; Monosaccharides, By J.A. Galbis and M.G. Garcia-Martin; Natural Sources, By L. Weignerova and V. K en; Synthesis and Applications of Ionic Liquids Derived from Natural Sugars; By C. Chiappe, A. Marra, and A. Mele"

This volume represents a collection of contributions from the 6th International Conference on Eicosanoids and Other Bioactive Lipids in Cancer, Inflammation, and Related Diseases held in Boston from September 12-15, 1999. The mission of this meeting was to bring together senior and junior investigators to both announce and examine their recent advancements in cutting-edge research on the roles and actions of lipid mediators and their impact in human physiology and disease pathogenesis. The meeting focused on new concepts in these areas of interest to both clinicians and researchers. The program included several outstanding plenary lectures and presentations by leading experts in the fields of cancer and inflammation. In addition, the Boston meeting presented three Young Investigator awards, one in each of the major focus areas. The meeting was exciting and proved to be very memorable. The program was developed with an emphasis on recent advances in molecular and of lipid mediators relevant in cellular mechanisims involved in the formation and actions inflammation and cancer. Plenary lectures were presented by Prof. Bengt Sammuelsson (Karolinska Institute, Stockholm; 1982 Nobel Laureate in Physiology or Medicine) and Prof. E. 1. Corey (Harvard University; 1990 Nobel Laureate in Chemistry). Both of these plenary lectures were held on Day 1, which set an exciting tone for this meeting. Immediately following these plenary lectures, three simultaneous breakout sessions were held, one of inflammation, a second on cancer and synthesis of novel inhibitors, and a third on enzymes-lipoxygenases/cyclooxygenases and inhibitors.

This book provides current glycoinformatics methods and protocols used to support the determination of carbohydrate structures in biological samples as well as carbohydrate structure databases, the interaction of carbohydrates with proteins, and theoretical and experimental methods to study their three-dimensional structure and dynamics. Glycoinformatics explores this recently emerged field, which has come into being in order to address the needs of encoding, storing, and analyzing carbohydrate 'sequences' and their taxonomy using computers. Written in the highly successful Methods in Molecular Biology series format, chapters contain the kind of detailed description and key implementation advice to ensure successful results. Authoritative and timely, Glycoinformatics demonstrates the progress that has been achieved in glycoinformatics, which indicates that it is no longer a niche subject covered by only a few scientists but is truly coming of age.

In the last 50 years molecular biology was dominated by the exploration of proteins and nucleic acids. Beside their role in energy metabolism, oligos- charides,which represent thethirdclass ofbiomacromolecules, have received less attention. Today it is well established that oligosaccharides are involved in many important biologicalregulation and recognition processes fromp- tein folding to cell-cell communication. Glycosylation of proteins is the most complexformofco-andposttranslationalmodi?cation. Thedeterminationof structure-function relationships, however, remains dif?cult due to the mic- heterogeneity of glycoproteins that exist in many different glycoforms. Thus chemical synthesis of glycoproteins and glycopeptides with de?ned glycan structures plays a pivotal role for the detailed determination of the role of protein glycosylation. This topic is covered by the ?rst two chapters of this bookdealingwiththechemicaland enzymatic synthesis ofglycopeptides and glycoproteins. The third chapter describes the construction of glycopeptide andglycoproteinmimetics containingnon-naturalstructuralelements. These so-calledneoglycopeptidesandneoglycoproteins,respectively,canprovide- sight on the importance of distinct structural elements on biological activity andmayhaveimproved propertiessuchasanincreased stability. Theappli- tion of synthetic glycopeptides, in many cases at the clinical level, as vaccines forbothcancerandHIVisthesubjectofthefourthchapter. Glycopeptide antibiotics are glycosylated secondary metabolites of bacteria and fungi that are synthesized by non-ribosomal peptide synthetases. Some of them serve as antibiotics of last resort in the treatment of nosocomial infections with enterococci and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) strains. Their structure, biosynthesis, and mode of action are summarized in the ?fth chapter. The last chapter covers current methods for the determination of high-resolution structures of glycopeptides and glycoproteins mainly based onNMRspectroscopy, X-raycrystallography,and molecular modeling.

Systematic investigations of the structure, mechanics, and dynamics of biological surfaces help us understand more about biological processes taking place at cell and bacteria surfaces. Presented here is a study of the role membrane-bound saccharides play in the modulation of interactions between cells/bacteria and their environments. In this thesis, membrane structures were probed perpendicular and parallel to the surface, and sophisticated planar models of biomembranes composed of glycolipids of various structural complexities were designed. Furthermore, specular and off-specular X-ray and neutron scattering experiments were carried out. This research has led to the development of several new methods for extracting information on the structure and mechanics of saccharide-rendered biomembranes from the measured scattering signals. In fact, more is now known about the influence of the saccharide structure. These results demonstrate that the study of planar model systems with X-ray and neutron scattering techniques can provide comprehensive insight into the structure and mechanics of complex biological surfaces.

Since their discovery over 60 years ago, eicosanoids have come to represent a diverse family of bioactive lipid modulators, including prostaglandins, thromboxanes, leukotrienes, lipoxins, isoprostanes, hepoxilins, hydroxy acids, epoxy and hydroxy fatty acids. This book contains conference presentations regarding the regulation of eicosanoid enzymes and, in particular, cyclooxygenases, lipoxygenases, and phospholipases. In addition, the latest evidence over the last seven years has led to the identification of a number of receptors for these bioactive lipids. The new field of isoprostanes is also represented. It has become increasingly evident that eicosanoids play a critical role in signal transduction, both in normal cells and in pathological processes. These aspects are discussed in relation to cellular events, such as apoptosis, angiogenesis, and cancer prevention and treatment.

Carbonic anhydrase (CA) is a seemingly ubiquitous enzyme of profound physiological importance, which plays essential roles in respiration, acid-base homeostasis, bone resorption, calcification, photosynthesis, several biosynthetic pathways and a variety of processes involving ion, gas and fluid transfer. This enzyme, which is present in at least three gene families (a, ss, ?), has found favour as a model for the study of evolution of gene families and for site-directed mutagenesis in structure/function relationships, for protein folding and for transgenic and gene target studies. Since the early use of CA inhibitors as diuretics and in treating congestive heart failure, the enzyme has been target of considerable clinical attention. Much of this is now focused on endeavours to produce a new generation of such drugs for the effective treatment of glaucoma and other potential applications. Recent data, suggesting links between CA and various disease processes, including cancer, have stimulated further...

We are in a phase of the evolution of biotechnology in which the true and potential commercial importance of carbohydrates is becoming appre- ated more fully. Progress in providing hard facts to establish the commercial value ofpolysaccharides and oligosaccharides is limited, as always, by lack of funding and by a relative shortage of skilled practitioners in the production and analysis of those materials. Carbohydrate science has a reputation, not unmerited, for technical difficulty owing to the structural similarity of the many monosaccharide monomers and the potential, and real, complexity of oligosaccharides and polysaccharides, particularly heterosaccharides conta- ing many different monomers. Modem analytical and synthetic methods, in many cases using enzyme technology, are beginning to allow this complexity to be unraveled. Carbohydrate Biotechnology Protocols is aimed at those newcomers who have an interest in the production and use of carbohydrate materials, but have shied away from involvement for lack of detailed descriptions of appropriate methods, including the type of practical hints that may be provided by those skilled in those methods, but that are rarely described in research papers. The majority of the contributions to this book conform to the established format of the Methods in Biotechnology series. They begin with the theoretical and c- mercial background to the method or group of methods, provide a list of the reagents and equipment required for the procedure, then give a detailed st- by-step description of how to carry out the protocol.

The second international symposium on Pectins and Pectinases was organized by Wageningen University and Research Centre and held in Rotterdam, May 6-10, 2001. This successful meeting was attended by around 130 participants from more than 20 countries representing almost all of the groups and industries working woridwide on pectins and pectinases. Following the first meeting on this subject held in December 1995, the symposium defInitely forms a platform for researchers and industries working in the fIeld, all within their own discipline and expertise. The symposium demanded a written account and this book is the resuit of that. It contains aIl keynote lectures and other oral presentations and provides an update about the current research. SignifIcant progress has been made in the last 5 years. This book provides an up-to-date insight into the research on pectin and pectic enzymes involved in their biosynthesis, degradation, modifIcation or utilization. The progress in the elucidation of the chemical structure of pectin and mode of action and 3-D structure of the pectin degrading enzymes allows us to identify and influence the functionality of pectins and pectic enzymes, both in vitra after isolation as weIl in the plants themselves (in planta). Other contributions deal with new applications of both pectin and pectin-degrading enzymes, while more and more attention is paid to health and nutritional aspects ofpectins. The book provides a 'state of the art' account for both beginners and experienced researchers of almost all disciplines of pectin research.