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.

Pharmaceutical manufacture is very exacting - for example, drugs must be uniform in size, shape, efficacy, bioavailability, and safety. The presence of different polymorphs in drug production is a serious problem, since different polymorphs differ in bioavailability, solubility, dissolution rate, chemical and physical stability, melting point, color, filterability, density, and flow properties. Fine Particles in Medicine and Pharmacy discusses particle size, shape, and composition and how they determine the choice of polymorph of a drug.

Here is a new book on methods and issues in clinical research. Its objectives can be summarized in three points. 1. Integrate medical and statistical components of clinical research. 2. Do justice to the operational and practical requirements of clinical research. 3. Give space to the ethical implications of methodological issues in clinical research. The book ends with a brief description of the drug development process and the phases of clinical development.

This book is intended to serve as a resource for analysts in developing and troubleshooting sample preparation methods. These are critical activities in providing accurate and reliable data throughout the lifecycle of a drug product. This book is divided into four parts: * Part One covers dosage form and diluent properties that impact sample preparation of pharmaceutical dosage forms and the importance of sampling considerations in generating data representative of the drug product batch. * Part Two reviews specific sample preparation techniques typically used with pharmaceutical dosage forms. * Part Three discusses sample preparation method development for different types of dosage forms including addressing drug excipient interactions and post extraction considerations, as well as method validation and applying Quality by Design (QbD) principles to sample preparation methods. * Part Four examines additional topics in sample preparation including automation, investigating aberrant potency results, green chemistry considerations for sample preparation and the ideal case where no sample preparation is required for sample analysis.

This volume tries to put current therapy - achievements, shortcomings, remaining medical needs - and emerging new targets into the context of increasing knowledge regarding the genetic and neurodevelopmental contributions to the pathophysiology of schizophrenia. Some of the chapters also deal with respective experimental and clinical methodology, biomarkers, and translational aspects of drug development. The volume concentrates on reviewing the ongoing research attempting to identify novel treatments for the cognitive deficits and negative symptoms of schizophrenia, which are not treated adequately by current antipsychotic medications.

This comprehensive and interdisciplinary handbook provides a bird's-eye view of two centuries of research on secondary metabolites of the two large Solanales families, Solanaceae and Convolvulaceae. In this book they're arranged according to their biosynthetic principles, while the occurrence and chemical structures of almost all known individual secondary metabolites are covered, which are found in hundreds of wild as well as cultivated solanaceous and convolvulaceous species.

This book would combine chapters written by the most qualified authors around the world whose research encompasses the effect of morphine or other opioids on tumor growth and metastasis. This includes clinicians involved in trials determining which type of post surgical pain management can minimize the risk of recurrence or metastasis, researchers working on animal models and studying the effect of morphine on tumors, and most importantly the mechanism for this effect, and lastly cell biologists. There is currently a lot of research going on trying to reconcile the pro- and anti-cancer aspects of opioids actions.

This Dictionary of Weighing Terms is a comprehensive practical guide to the terminology of weighing for all users of weighing instruments in industry and science. It explains more than 1000 terms of weighing technology and related areas; numerous illustrations assist understanding. The Dictionary of Weighing Terms is a joint work of the German Federal Institute of Physics and Metrology (PTB) and METTLER TOLEDO, the weighing instruments manufacturer. Special thanks go to Peter Brandes, Michael Denzel, and Dr. Oliver Mack of PTB, and to Richard Davis of BIPM, who with their technical knowledge have contributed to the success of this work. The Dictionary contains terms from the following fields: fundamentals of weighing, application and use of weighing instruments, international standards, legal requirements for weighing instruments, weighing accuracy. An index facilitates rapid location of the required term. The authors welcome suggestions and corrections at www.mt.com/w eighing-terms. Braunschweig (DE) and Greifensee (CH), The Authors Summer 2009 Foreword Since its founding in 1875, the International Bureau of Weights and Measures (BIPM) has had a unique role in mass metrology. The definition of the kilogram depends on an artefact conserved and used within our laboratories. The mass embodied in this - tefact defines the kilogram, and this information is disseminated throughout the world to promote uniformity of measurements. Although the definition of the kilogram may change in the re- tively near future, reflecting the success of new technologies and new requirements, the task of ensuring world-wide uniformity of mass measurements will remain.

Macromolecular drugs hold the promise of becoming new therapeutics for several major disorders, including cancer and cardiovascular disease. This incredible potential is explored in Macromolecular Drug Delivery, a volume which gives a wide-ranging overview of contemporary methods used in the field, and which addresses the limitations presented by a lack of safe and efficient drug delivery strategies. Chapters offer information on both in vitro and in vivo methods of macromolecular delivery, thus appealing to a broad scientific audience. Composed in the highly successful Methods in Molecular Biology (TM) series format, each chapter contains a brief introduction, step-by-step methods, a list of necessary materials, and a Notes section which shares tips on troubleshooting and avoiding known pitfalls. Comprehensive and cutting-edge, Macromolecular Drug Delivery offers a platform for interdisciplinary collaboration, which should provide opportunities for new discoveries at the interface between disciplines. Ultimately, this cooperation will lead to the use of macromolecular drugs as novel diagnostic tools and, even more importantly, as a means to revolutionize the way we view and treat diseases.

What drives a scientist to edit a book on a speci c scienti c subject such as chiral mechanisms in separation methods? Until December 2005, the journal Analytical Chemistry of the American Chemical Society (Washington, DC) had an A-page section that was dedicated to simple and clear presentations of the most recent te- niques or the state of the art in a particular eld or topic. The "A-page" section was prepared for a broad audience of chemists including industrial professionals, s- dents as well as academics looking for information outside their eld of expertise. 1 Daniel W. Armstrong, one of the editors of this journal and a twenty-year+ long friend, invited me to present my view on chiral recognition mechanisms in a simple and clear way in an "A-page" article. In 2006, the "A-page" section was maintained as the rst articles at the beginning of each rst bi-monthly issue but the pagination was no longer page distinguished from the regular research articles published by the journal. During the time between the invitation and the submission, the A-page section was integrated into the rest of the journal and the article appeared as (2006) Anal Chem (78):2093-2099.

The book "Nanocosmetics and nanomedicines: new approaches for skin care" contains a summary of the most important nanocarriers for skin delivery. Although "nanocosmetics" is a subject widely commented in the academy and the beauty industry, a book covering the skin care treatments using nanotechnological approaches with cosmetics and nanomedicines is still missing, therefore the need for this publication. This book is divided in three parts: The first one (Part A) is devoted to a brief review on the main topics related to the skin delivery and to the introduction of the subject "nanocosmetics". The second part (Part B) presents different types of nanocarriers applied as skin delivery systems for cosmetics or drugs. The last part (Part C) shows a wide range of applications of nanotechnology on the skin care area as well as on dermatocosmetic and dermatological fields.

Drug discovery originating in Africa has the potential to provide significantly improved treatment of endemic diseases such as malaria, tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS. This book critically reviews the current status of drug discovery research and development in Africa, for diseases that are a major threat to the health of people living in Africa. Compiled by leading African and international experts, this book presents the science and strategies of modern drug discovery. It explores how the use of natural products and traditional medicines can benefit from conventional drug discovery approaches, and proposes solutions to current technological, infrastructural, human resources, and economic challenges, which are presented when attempting to engage in full-scale drug discovery. Topics addressed are varied; from African medicinal plants to marine bioprospecting, pharmacogenetics and the use of nanotechnology. This book brings together for the first time a collection of strategies and techniques that need to be considered when developing drugs in an African setting. It is an unprecedented and truly international effort, highlighting the remarkable effort made so far in the area of drug discovery research by African scientists, and scientists from other parts of the world working on African health problems.

Antibiotics are truly miracle drugs. As a class, they are one of the only ones that actually cure disease as opposed to most drugs that only help relieve symptoms or control disease. Since bacteria that cause serious disease in humans are becoming more and more resistant to the antibiotics we have today, and because they will ultimately become resistant to any antibiotic that we use for treatment or for anything else, we need a steady supply of new antibiotics active against any resistant bacteria that arise. However, the antibiotics marketplace is no longer attractive for large pharmaceutical companies, the costs of development are skyrocketing because of ever more stringent requirements by the regulatory agencies, and finding new antibiotics active against resistant strains is getting harder and harder. These forces are all combining to deny us these miracle drugs when we need them the most. I provide a number of possible paths to shelter from this perfect storm.

This book is a major update of novel targets in angiogenesis modulation, including pro- and anti-angiogenesis. There is in-depth coverage of preclinical and clinical methods and models, investigational status, and clinical applications. The impact of nanotechnology in advancing the applications of pro-and anti-angiogenesis strategies is also highlighted, along with stem cell and biotechnologies in research and development of angiogenesis modulating targets.

New Antisense Strategies: Chemical Synthesis of RNA Oligomers, by Junichi Yano und Gerald E. Smyth Development and Modification of Decoy Oligodeoxynucleotides for Clinical Application, by Mariana Kiomy Osako, Hironori Nakagami und Ryuichi Morishita Modulation of Endosomal Toll-Like Receptor-Mediated Immune Responses by Synthetic Oligonucleotides, by Ekambar R. Kandimalla und Sudhir Agrawal Delivery of Nucleic Acid Drugs, by Yan Lee und Kazunori Kataoka Aptamer: Biology to Applications, by Yoshikazu Nakamura Development and Clinical Applications of Nucleic Acid Therapeutics, by Veenu Aishwarya, Anna Kalota und Alan M. Gewirtz

It was an extraordinary pleasure for me, as the secretary general, to organise, with my collaborators, this Second International Symposium on Antibiotic Resistance in the Castle of Smolenice in Czechoslovakia. We all appreciated many offers all participants must have spent to attend this Symposium and we were glad to do our best to prepare this meeting in a suitable and convenient way. We gathered in Smolenice Castle after the significant International Congress on Che motherapy in September 1973 in Athens. We had the chance of getting acquainted, on that world-wide forum, with the latest information about bacterial resistance to anti biotics. It was possible at that Congress to outline main topics of interest in the field of bacterial resistance to antibiotics which then have been placed on the programme of the subsequent Smolenice Symposium. Undoubtedly, enzymatic mechanisms by which bacteria can inactivate older and newer antibacterial drugs and which can be transmitted and spread among bacterial strains, have both medical as well as theoretical priority. Dealing specially with Pseudomonas aeruginosa is highly urgent at present from the clinical, hygienical and genetical point of view. We have realised that antibiotics have ceased to be "magic bullets" which hit the microorganisms without discrimination. Today we urgently consider the question what should be done in the area of "antibiotic policy" to preserve the effectiveness of antibiotics for the future.

Six decades after the serendipitous discovery of chlorpromazine as an antipsychotic and four decades after the launch of clozapine, the first atypical or second generation antipsychotic, psychopharmacology has arrived at an important crossroad. It is clear that pharmacological research and pharmaceutical development must now focus on complementary or even alternative mechanisms of action to address unmet medical needs, i.e. poorly treated domains of schizophrenia, improved acceptance by patients, better adherence to medication, safety in psychoses in demented patients, and avoiding cardiac and metabolic adverse effects. The first completely novel mechanisms evolving from our insights into the pathophysiology of psychotic disorders, especially the role of glutamatergic mechanisms in schizophrenia, are now under development, and further principles are on the horizon. This situation, in many respects similar to that when the initial second-generation antipsychotics became available, can be rewarding for all. Preclinical and clinical researchers now have the opportunity to confirm their hypotheses and the pharmaceutical industry may be able to develop really novel classes of therapeutics. When we were approached by the publishers of the Handbook of Experimental Pharmacology to prepare a new volume on antipsychotics, our intention was to capture both, the accumulated preclinical and clinical knowledge about current antipsychotics as well as prospects for new and potentially more specific antischizophrenia principles. These efforts should be based on the pathophysiology of the diseases and the affected neurotransmitter systems. Since preclinical research on antipsychotic compounds is only reliable when intimately linked through translational aspects to clinical results, we decided to include clinical science as well. It turned out that that this endeavor could not be covered by a single volume. We thank the editorial board and the publishers for supporting our decision to prepare two volumes: Current Antipsychotics and Novel Antischizophrenia Treatments. These topics cannot really be separated from one another and should be seen as a composite entity despite the somewhat arbitrary separation of contributions into two volumes. The continuing challenges of developing improved and safer antipsychotic medications remain of concern and are discussed in the first volume. The new opportunities for the field to develop and license adjunctive treatments for the negative symptoms and cognitive deficits that are treated inadequately by existing compounds have been incentivized recently and provide the focus for the second volume. We hope these collective contributions will facilitate the development of improved treatments for the full range of symptomatology seen in the group of schizophrenias and other major psychotic disorders. Gerhard Gross, Ludwigshafen, Germany Mark A. Geyer, La Jolla, CA This volume will try to put current therapy - achievements, shortcomings, remaining medical needs - and emerging new targets into the context of increasing knowledge regarding the genetic and neurodevelopmental contributions to the pathophysiology of schizophrenia. Some of the chapters will also deal with respective experimental and clinical methodology, biomarkers, and translational aspects of drug development. Non-schizophrenia indications will be covered to some extent, but not exhaustively.

Carl Edward Sagan's (1934-1996) one of the famous quotation was "Who are we? We find that we live on an insignificant planet of a humdrum star lost in a galaxy tucked away in some forgotten corner of a universe in which there are far more galaxies than people." From past to date, well-known molecules, enzymes, proteins, lipids and carbohydrates are studied in the pathogenesis of several diseases both as a diagnostic/prognostic biomarker and therapeutic agent. The underlying mechanism of unexplained diseases and failure of therapies are frequently studied with well-known biomarkers, but remain unclear in many cases. As Dr. Sagan said other keys are still waiting to be known in some forgotten corner of a body universe, we find strength to propose that one of them can be the growth factor with cytokine activity named "Midkine" This book summarizes the extensive up-to-date literature overeview with the lastest work of experts about midkine in a detailed format that conveys its role as both a pathologic factor and therapeutic agent.

Salen Metal Complexes as Catalysts for the Synthesis of Polycarbonates from Cyclic Ethers and Carbon Dioxide, by Donald J. Darensbourg.- Material Properties of Poly(Propylene Carbonates), by Gerrit. A. Luinstra and Endres Borchardt.- Poly(3-Hydroxybutyrate) from Carbon Monoxide, by Robert Reichardt and Bernhard Rieger. - Ecoflex(r) and Ecovio(r): Biodegradable, Performance-Enabling Plastics, by K. O. Siegenthaler, A. Kunkel, G. Skupin and M. Yamamoto.- Biodegradability of Poly(Vinyl Acetate) and Related Polymers, by Manfred Amann and Oliver Minge.- Recent Developments in Ring-Opening Polymerization of Lactones, by P. Lecomte and C. Jerome.- Recent Developments in Metal-Catalyzed Ring-Opening Polymerization of Lactides and Glycolides: Preparation of Polylactides, Polyglycolide, and Poly(lactide-co-glycolide), by Saikat Dutta, Wen-Chou Hung, Bor-Hunn Huang and Chu-Chieh Lin.- Bionolle (Polybutylenesuccinate), by Yasushi Ichikawa, Tatsuya Mizukoshi.- Polyurethanes from Renewable Resources, by David A. Babb.-"

After more than twenty years of use Good Laboratory Practice, or GLP, has attained a secure place in the world of testing chemicals and other "test items" with regard to their safety for humans and the environment. Gone are the days when the GLP regulations were hotly debated amongst scientists in academia and industry and were accused of stifling flexibility in, imaginative approaches to, and science-based conduct of, all kinds of studies concerned with toxic effects and other parameters important for the evaluation and assessment of products submitted for registration and permission to market. The GLP regulations have developed from rules on how to exactly document the planning, conduct and reporting of toxicity studies to a quality system for the management of a multitude of study types, from the simple determination of a physical/chemical parameter to the most complex field studies or ecotoxicology studies. At the same time the term "Good Laboratory Practice" has become somewhat of a slogan with the aim to characterise any reliably conducted laboratory work.

Intensive care is a rapidly changing area of medicine, and after four years from the 2nd edition the volume editors and authors have deemed necessary to update it. In the recent years, in fact, five new randomised controlled trials and five new meta-analyses demonstrate that selective decontamination of the digestive tract [SDD] is an antimicrobial prophylaxis to prevent severe infections of not only lower airways but also of blood. Additionally, SDD has been shown to reduce inflammation including multiple organ failure and mortality. An intriguing observation is the evidence that SDD using parenteral and enteral antimicrobials reduces rather than increases antimicrobial resistance. Moreover, a new chapter on microcirculation had been added. The volume will be an invaluable tool for all those requiring in depth knowledge in the ever expanding field of infection control.

The inspiration for this text was the 1988 volume by Alder and Zbinden, written before the ICH harmonization process for drug safety evaluation (or its ISO analog for device biocompatibility evaluation) had been initiated or come to force. Since then, much has changed in both the world and practice of medicine and the regulation of drugs. The intent of this volume is to provide similar guidance as to what nonclinical safety assessment tests need to be performed to move a drug into man, through development and to market approved (this intent was subsequently extended to cover the closely related medical device biotechnology, and combination product fields) in a concise, abbreviated manner for all the major world market countries.

During its short 20 year history High Performance Liquid Chro matography (HPLC) has won itself a firm place amongst the instrumental methods of analysis. HPLC has caused a revolution in biological and pharmaceutical chemistry. Approximately two thirds of the publications on HPLC are concerned with problems from this area of life science. Biotechnology, where it is necessary to isolate substances from complicated mixtures, is likely to give further impetus to the dissemination of modern liquid chromatog raphy in columns, particularly on the preparative scale. This book presents, by means of examples, the application of HPLC to various fields, as well as fundamental discussions of chromatographic methods. The quality of the analytical result is decisively dependent on the qualities of the equipment employed (by Colin, Guiochon, and Martin). Especially the demands are discussed that are placed on the components of the instrument including those for data acquisition and processing. The section on "quantitative analy sis" (by ABhauer, Ullner) covers besides the principles also the problems of ensuring the quality of the data in detail. The basic problems arising by enlarging the sample size to preparative di mensions and the requirements put on the aparatus are discussed in the section on "preparative applications" (by Wehrli)."