This book pursues possible strategies for synthesising mainly organic compounds, particularly those of interest to the health sector and related industries. Topics covered include addition reactions of aldehydes and ketones; the use of organometallic reagents to form carbon-carbon bonds (eg Grignard reagents); and radical reactions, including selectivity and chain reactions. Retrosynthetic analysis is introduced as a strategy for developing syntheses, along with biochemical pathways. Mechanism and Synthesis concludes with a Case Study on polymers, which demonstrates how chain reactions can be used to build up useful materials with specific properties, such as contact lenses. The Molecular World series provides an integrated introduction to all branches of chemistry for both students wishing to specialise and those wishing to gain a broad understanding of chemistry and its relevance to the everyday world and to other areas of science. The books, with their Case Studies and accompanying multi-media interactive CD-ROMs, will also provide valuable resource material for teachers and lecturers. (The CD-ROMs are designed for use on a PC running Windows 95, 98, ME or 2000.)

Chemical Kinetics and Mechanism considers the role of rate of reaction. It begins by introducing chemical kinetics and the analysis of reaction mechanism, from basic well-established concepts to leading edge research. Organic reaction mechanisms are then discussed, encompassing curly arrows, nucleophilic substitution and E1 and E2 elimination reactions. The book concludes with a Case Study on Zeolites, which examines their structure and internal dimensions in relation to their behaviour as molecular sieves and catalysts. The accompanying CD-ROM contains the ""Kinetics Toolkit,"" a graph-plotting application designed for manipulation and analysis of kinetic data, which is built into many of the examples, questions and exercises in the text. There are also interactive activities illustrating reaction mechanisms. The Molecular World series provides an integrated introduction to all branches of chemistry for both students wishing to specialise and those wishing to gain a broad understanding of chemistry and its relevance to the everyday world and to other areas of science. The books, with their Case Studies and accompanying multi-media interactive CD-ROMs, will also provide valuable resource material for teachers and lecturers. (The CD-ROMs are designed for use on a PC running Windows 95, 98, ME or 2000.)

The definitive monograph on these intriguing aquatic carnivorous plants. Each of the 214 species described is superbly illustrated with a full-page line drawing.