Fungi occupy an important place in the natural world, as non-photosynthetic organisms, they obtain their nutrients from the degradation of organic material. They use many of their secondary metabolites to secure a place in a competitive natural environment and to protect themselves from predation. The diverse structures, biosyntheses and biological activities of fungal metabolites have attracted chemists for many years. Fungi are ubiquitous and their activities affect many aspects of our daily lives whether it be as sources of pharmaceuticals and food or as spoilage organisms and the causes of diseases in plants and man. The chemistry of the fungi involved in these activities has been the subject of considerable study particularly over the last fifty years. Although their ramifications can be large as in the spread of plant diseases, the quantities of the metabolites which could be isolated precluded much chemical work until the advent of spectroscopic methods. Whereas many natural products derived from plants were isolated prior to the 1960s on a scale which permitted extensive chemical degradation, this was rarely the case for fungal metabolites. This book is an introduction to the chemistry of fungal metabolites. The aim is to illustrate within the context of fungal metabolites, the historical progression from chemical to spectroscopic methods of structure elucidation, the development in biosynthetic studies from establishing sequences and mechanisms to chemical enzymology and genetics and the increasing understanding of the biological roles of natural products. The book begins with a historical introduction followed by a description of the general chemical features which contribute to the growth of fungi. There are many thousands of fungal metabolites whose structures are known and the book does not aim to list them all as there are databases to fulfill this role. The book's aim is to describe some of the more important metabolites classified according to their biosynthetic origin. Biosynthesis provides a unifying feature underlying the diverse structures of fungal metabolites and the chapters covering this area begin with a general outline of the relevant biosynthetic pathway before presenting a detailed description of particular metabolites. Investigations into these biosyntheses have utilized many subtle isotopic labelling experiments and compounds that are fungal pigments and those which are distinctive metabolites of the more conspicuous Basidiomycetes are treated separately. Many fungal metabolites are involved in the interactions of fungi with plants and others are toxic to man and some of these are described in further chapters. Fungi have the ability to transform chemicals in ways which can complement conventional reactions and the use of fungi as reagents forms the subject of the final chapter. This book will be particularly useful to anybody about to embark on a career in chemical microbiology by providing an overall perspective of fungal metabolites as well as an essential reference tool for more general chemists.

Natural products are compounds that are produced by living systems and the secondary metabolites are those which give particular species their characteristic features. These natural products include polyketides, terpenoids, phenylpropanoids, alkaloids and antibiotics. The study of these natural products has played a major part in the development of organic and medicinal chemistry and we are now starting to understand the important ecological role that these compounds have. The aim of this book is to describe the major features of these compounds and the way in which chemical and physical methods have been used to establish their structures and then to show how these structures can be rationalised in biosynthetic terms. The first chapter describes the classes of natural product, their biological activity and isolation. Subsequent chapters attempt to link chemical and spectroscopic strategies in structure elucidation, contrasting the classical chemical strategies that were used in the past with modern spectroscopic methods. The final chapter describes the biosynthesis of natural products. The elucidation of the structures of natural products brings together many elements taught in courses on functional group chemistry, stereochemistry and elementary spectroscopy. This book will therefore be welcomed by lecturers and students of second-year chemistry courses. Ideal for the needs of undergraduate chemistry students, Tutorial Chemistry Texts is a major series consisting of short, single topic or modular texts concentrating on the fundamental areas of chemistry taught in undergraduate science courses. Each book provides a concise account of the basic principles underlying a given subject, embodying an independent-learning philosophy and including worked examples.

Specialist Periodical Reports provide systematic and detailed review coverage of progress in the major areas of chemical research. Written by experts in their specialist fields the series creates a unique service for the active research chemist, supplying regular critical in-depth accounts of progress in particular areas of chemistry. For over 90 years The Royal Society of Chemistry and its predecessor, the Chemical Society, have been publishing reports charting developments in chemistry, which originally took the form of Annual Reports. However, by 1967 the whole spectrum of chemistry could no longer be contained within one volume and the series Specialist Periodical Reports was born. The Annual Reports themselves still existed but were divided into two, and subsequently three, volumes covering Inorganic, Organic and Physical Chemistry. For more general coverage of the highlights in chemistry they remain a 'must'. Since that time the SPR series has altered according to the fluctuating degree of activity in various fields of chemistry. Some titles have remained unchanged, while others have altered their emphasis along with their titles; some have been combined under a new name whereas others have had to be discontinued. The current list of Specialist Periodical Reports can be seen on the inside flap of this volume.

Specialist Periodical Reports provide systematic and detailed review coverage of progress in the major areas of chemical research. Written by experts in their specialist fields the series creates a unique service for the active research chemist, supplying regular critical in-depth accounts of progress in particular areas of chemistry. For over 90 years The Royal Society of Chemistry and its predecessor, the Chemical Society, have been publishing reports charting developments in chemistry, which originally took the form of Annual Reports. However, by 1967 the whole spectrum of chemistry could no longer be contained within one volume and the series Specialist Periodical Reports was born. The Annual Reports themselves still existed but were divided into two, and subsequently three, volumes covering Inorganic, Organic and Physical Chemistry. For more general coverage of the highlights in chemistry they remain a 'must'. Since that time the SPR series has altered according to the fluctuating degree of activity in various fields of chemistry. Some titles have remained unchanged, while others have altered their emphasis along with their titles; some have been combined under a new name whereas others have had to be discontinued. The current list of Specialist Periodical Reports can be seen on the inside flap of this volume.

Specialist Periodical Reports provide systematic and detailed review coverage of progress in the major areas of chemical research. Written by experts in their specialist fields the series creates a unique service for the active research chemist, supplying regular critical in-depth accounts of progress in particular areas of chemistry. For over 90 years The Royal Society of Chemistry and its predecessor, the Chemical Society, have been publishing reports charting developments in chemistry, which originally took the form of Annual Reports. However, by 1967 the whole spectrum of chemistry could no longer be contained within one volume and the series Specialist Periodical Reports was born. The Annual Reports themselves still existed but were divided into two, and subsequently three, volumes covering Inorganic, Organic and Physical Chemistry. For more general coverage of the highlights in chemistry they remain a 'must'. Since that time the SPR series has altered according to the fluctuating degree of activity in various fields of chemistry. Some titles have remained unchanged, while others have altered their emphasis along with their titles; some have been combined under a new name whereas others have had to be discontinued. The current list of Specialist Periodical Reports can be seen on the inside flap of this volume.

Specialist Periodical Reports provide systematic and detailed review coverage of progress in the major areas of chemical research. Written by experts in their specialist fields the series creates a unique service for the active research chemist, supplying regular critical in-depth accounts of progress in particular areas of chemistry. For over 90 years The Royal Society of Chemistry and its predecessor, the Chemical Society, have been publishing reports charting developments in chemistry, which originally took the form of Annual Reports. However, by 1967 the whole spectrum of chemistry could no longer be contained within one volume and the series Specialist Periodical Reports was born. The Annual Reports themselves still existed but were divided into two, and subsequently three, volumes covering Inorganic, Organic and Physical Chemistry. For more general coverage of the highlights in chemistry they remain a 'must'. Since that time the SPR series has altered according to the fluctuating degree of activity in various fields of chemistry. Some titles have remained unchanged, while others have altered their emphasis along with their titles; some have been combined under a new name whereas others have had to be discontinued. The current list of Specialist Periodical Reports can be seen on the inside flap of this volume.

Specialist Periodical Reports provide systematic and detailed review coverage of progress in the major areas of chemical research. Written by experts in their specialist fields the series creates a unique service for the active research chemist, supplying regular critical in-depth accounts of progress in particular areas of chemistry. For over 90 years The Royal Society of Chemistry and its predecessor, the Chemical Society, have been publishing reports charting developments in chemistry, which originally took the form of Annual Reports. However, by 1967 the whole spectrum of chemistry could no longer be contained within one volume and the series Specialist Periodical Reports was born. The Annual Reports themselves still existed but were divided into two, and subsequently three, volumes covering Inorganic, Organic and Physical Chemistry. For more general coverage of the highlights in chemistry they remain a 'must'. Since that time the SPR series has altered according to the fluctuating degree of activity in various fields of chemistry. Some titles have remained unchanged, while others have altered their emphasis along with their titles; some have been combined under a new name whereas others have had to be discontinued. The current list of Specialist Periodical Reports can be seen on the inside flap of this volume.

Specialist Periodical Reports provide systematic and detailed review coverage of progress in the major areas of chemical research. Written by experts in their specialist fields the series creates a unique service for the active research chemist, supplying regular critical in-depth accounts of progress in particular areas of chemistry. For over 90 years The Royal Society of Chemistry and its predecessor, the Chemical Society, have been publishing reports charting developments in chemistry, which originally took the form of Annual Reports. However, by 1967 the whole spectrum of chemistry could no longer be contained within one volume and the series Specialist Periodical Reports was born. The Annual Reports themselves still existed but were divided into two, and subsequently three, volumes covering Inorganic, Organic and Physical Chemistry. For more general coverage of the highlights in chemistry they remain a 'must'. Since that time the SPR series has altered according to the fluctuating degree of activity in various fields of chemistry. Some titles have remained unchanged, while others have altered their emphasis along with their titles; some have been combined under a new name whereas others have had to be discontinued. The current list of Specialist Periodical Reports can be seen on the inside flap of this volume.

Medicinal chemistry incorporates bio-organic chemistry, organic synthetic methods, physical organic chemistry and organic reaction mechanisms. These areas of chemistry are crucial to the design and synthesis of new drugs, both in academia and the pharmaceutical industry. Chemistry and Medicines: An Introductory Text provides a general introduction to this fascinating subject. The first chapters contain a brief historical introduction followed by a description of the chemical features involved in the adsorption, distribution, metabolism and excretion of a drug. The remaining chapters describe the chemistry underlying the design and synthesis of some of the key drugs used to combat some major diseases of the peripheral and central nervous system, infectious diseases and cancers. A glossary and suggestions for further reading complete this textbook. The book is aimed at those studying advanced undergraduate and postgraduate courses in medicinal chemistry.

Functional Group Chemistry presents the chemistry of functional groups with an emphasis on patterns of reactivity, the consequences of the relative electronegativity of the atoms that constitute functional groups, the role of lone pairs and the stereochemistry of reactions at a particular group. The material is presented in four chapters. The first chapter describes some of the general principles that affect the reactivity of functional groups. The second chapter examines the chemistry of functional groups involving - C-X bonds as in alkyl halides, alcohols, ethers, amines and organometallic reagents. The third chapter covers the chemistry of both symmetrical and unsymmetrical -bonded functional groups, typified by alkenes and carbonyl groups. The final chapter concentrates on aromatic compounds. It is concerned with the interactions between an aromatic ring and functional groups that are attached to it, such as their effect on the orientation of aromatic substitution. Each chapter concludes with a series of problems. The chemistry of the functional groups is considered here with a mechanistic rationale. Students are encouraged to consider the reactivity of functional groups in terms of their regions of electron deficiency and excess, and hence to identify the sites at which nucleophiles and electrophiles might react. Additional material is available on the website at www.rsc.org/tct Ideal for the needs of undergraduate chemistry students, Tutorial Chemistry Texts is a major series consisting of short, single topic or modular texts concentrating on the fundamental areas of chemistry taught in undergraduate science courses. Each book provides a concise account of the basic principles underlying a given subject, embodying an independent-learning philosophy and including worked examples.

The chemical synthesis of isotopically labelled compounds is a pre-requisite for many chemical, biochemical and medicinal investigations. The constraints imposed by the requirements for regiospecific labelling and, in some instances, the time-scale of the synthesis often lead to quite different synthetic strategies to those that are used for the unlabelled material. Whilst there are many specialist papers, reviews and long books devoted to particular isotopes, there is no currently available short introductory book devoted to the organic chemistry of isotopic labelling. The aim of this book is to introduce research workers to a variety of methods that have been used to achieve these synthetic labelling objectives before exploring a particular method in detail. It covers a number of different isotopes and the methods that have been used to introduce them into organic compounds. Labelling methods also provide useful undergraduate teaching examples of modern synthetic reactions and their stereochemical consequences using relatively simple substrates. The book will therefore have a wider appeal than just those involved in using isotopes in research such as environmental and pharmaceutical chemists as well as organic chemists.

Synthesis is one of the major endeavours of the organic chemist, and the design of a successful synthesis requires a sound knowledge of functional group chemistry, stereochemistry and organic reaction mechanisms. Organic Synthetic Methods introduces the major methods of creating carbon-carbon and carbon-nitrogen bonds, along with functional group interconversions (oxidation, reduction, halogenation). The use of protecting groups and solid-phase methods are also discussed. The analysis of the structure of a target molecule, in terms of the structural consequences of synthetic reactions, is introduced to enable the student to identify key dissections and building blocks and hence develop a suitable synthetic method. Examples of the synthesis of labelled compounds are also provided. Ideal for the needs of undergraduate chemistry students, Tutorial Chemistry Texts is a major new series consisting of short, single topic or modular texts concentrating on the fundamental areas of chemistry taught in undergraduate science courses. Each book provides a concise account of the basic principles underlying a given subject, embodying an independent-learning philosophy and including worked examples.