1. Lyotropic Liquid Crystals The class of compounds known as thermotropic liquid crystals has been widely utilized in basic research and industry during recent years. The properties of these materials are such that on heating from the solid to the isotropic liquid state, phase transitions occur with the formation of one or more intermediate anisotropic liquids. The unique and sometimes startling properties of these liquid crystals are the properties of pure compounds. However, there exists a second class of substances known as lyotropic liquid crystals which obtain their anisotropic properties from the mixing of two or more components. One of the components is amphiphilic, containing a polar head group (generally ionic or zwitterionic) attached to one or more long-chain hydrocarbons; the second component is usually water. Lyotropic liquid crystals occur abundantly in nature, particularly in all living systems. As a consequence, a bright future seems assured for studies on such systems. Even now, many of the properties of these systems are poorly understood. It is the purpose of this review to consolidate the results obtained from nuclear magnetic resonance studies of such systems and to provide a coherent picture of the field. Probably the most familiar example of a lyotropic liquid crystal is soap in water. A common soap is sodium dodecylsulphate where an ionic group (sulphate) is attached to a hydrocarbon chain containing twelve carbons.

The first comprehensive resource on the chemistry of vanadium, Vanadium: Chemistry, Biochemistry, Pharmacology, and Practical Applications has evolved from over a quarter century of research that concentrated on delineating the aqueous coordination reactions that characterize the vanadium(V) oxidation state. The authors distill information on biological processes needed to understand vanadium effects in biological systems and make this information accessible to a wide range of readers, including chemists without extensive biological training. Building a hierarchy of complexity, the book provides a discussion of some basic principles of 51V NMR spectroscopy followed by a description of the self-condensation reactions of vanadate itself. The authors delineate reactions with simple monodentate ligands and then proceed to more complicated systems such as diols, a-hydroxy acids, amino acids, peptides, to name just a few. They revisit aspects of this sequence later, but first highlight the influence the electronic properties of ligands have on coordination and reactivity. They then compare and contrast the influences of ligands, particularly those of hydrogen peroxide and hydroxylamine, on heteroligand reactivity. The book includes coverage of vanadium-dependent haloperoxidases and model systems, vanadium in the environment, and technological applications. It also briefly covers the catalytic reactions of peroxovanadate and haloperoxidase model compounds. It contains a discussion of the vanadium haloperoxidases and the biological and biochemical activities of vanadium(V) including potential pharmacological applications. The last chapters step outside these boundaries by introducing some aspects of the future of vanadium in nanotechnology, the recyclable redox battery, and the lithium/silver vanadium oxide battery. Primary sources documented after each chapter minimize the need to search the literature, 80 illustrations provide structural information, reaction schemes, spectra, speciation diagrams, and biochemical schemes, and 22 tables present detailed information with references to primary sources. Packed with current and authoritative information, the book covers chemistry and bioinorganic vanadium chemistry in a broad and systematic manner that engenders comprehensive understanding.