Acetylenes are an important and valuable class of compounds in organic synthesis. This book expands on this historically well-established concept, while incorporating the many new developments that have widened the number of applications in this field. It remains the only handbook available that embodies all the important facets of acetylene chemistry. Following the first section on synthesis, the leading authors deal with advanced materials before turning to the properties and theory of acetylenes, while a final section looks at the biological aspects. With its range of experimental procedures, this book is a practical aid for both organic and organometallic chemists, as well as for materials scientists, biochemists, and industrial chemists.

Reasoning in terms of molecular recognition may be traced back to Emil Fischer, who practiced the art of chemistry at Humboldt University in Prussian Berlin a century ago. Today, it is clearly recognized that molecular recognition impacts and determines all life processes. It has become a key research field in both chemistry and biology and the emerging interface of what now is being called "chemical biology". The technological advances derived from this knowledge are particularly important, diverse, and directly evident in the pharmaceutical industry. Under the auspices of the Ernst Schering Research Foundation, a workshop held in Berlin in February 1998 addressed novel basic developments of potential relevance to drug research efforts. A balance of timely research topics in molecular recognition is presented in the lectures delivered by a multidisciplinary international panel of renowned scholars and documented in this volume.