Overview
Chirality is a fundamental, persistent, but often overlooked feature of all living organisms on the molecular level as well as on the macroscopic scale. The high degree of preference for only one of two possible mirror image forms in Nature, often called biological homochirality is a puzzling, and not yet fully understood, phenomenon. This book covers biological homochirality from an interdisciplinary approach - contributions range from synthetic chemists, theoretical topologists and physicists, from palaeontologists and biologists to space scientists and representatives of the pharmaceutical and materials industries. Topics covered include - theory of biochirality, origins of biochirality, autocatalysis with amplification of chirality, macroscopic (present) biochirality, fossil records of chiral organisms - paleochirality, extraterrestrial origin of chirality, exceptions to the rule of biological homochirality, D-amino acids, chemical transfer of chirality, PV effects, and polarised radiation chemistry.
Full Product Details
Author: C. Zucchi (Department of Chemistry, University of Modena, Via Campi 183, I-41100 Modena, Italy) ,
L. Caglioti (""La Sapienza"", P.le A. Moro 5, 1-00185 Rome, Italy) ,
Gyula Palyi (Department of Chemistry, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Modena, Italy)
Publisher: Elsevier Science & Technology
Imprint: Elsevier Science Ltd
Dimensions:
Width: 15.60cm
, Height: 2.40cm
, Length: 23.00cm
Weight: 0.890kg
ISBN: 9780080434049
ISBN 10: 0080434045
Pages: 407
Publication Date: 08 September 1999
Audience:
College/higher education
,
Professional and scholarly
,
Undergraduate
,
Postgraduate, Research & Scholarly
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Out of Print
Availability: In Print
Limited stock is available. It will be ordered for you and shipped pending supplier's limited stock.
Reviews
Laszlo Marko, University of Veszprem, HungaryEvery chemist working with chiral compounds and also every biologist has obviously already asked the question: How did the molecular and macroscopic homochirality of biological systems evolve starting from a racemic prebiological world? And furthermore, how perfect is this homochirality and what are its general consequences? This book which is based on the contributions presented at an international symposium on biological homochirality offers the first comprehensive review of these fundamental questions of biochirality. It is a real gold mine of ideas for further research to everybody interested in this very far-reaching subject including chemists, biologists, physicists, geologists and even cosmochemists.
Laszlo Marko, University of Veszprem, Hungary<br>Every chemist working with chiral compounds and also every biologist has obviously already asked the question: How did the molecular and macroscopic homochirality of biological systems evolve starting from a racemic prebiological world? And furthermore, how perfect is this homochirality and what are its general consequences? This book which is based on the contributions presented at an international symposium on biological homochirality offers the first comprehensive review of these fundamental questions of biochirality. It is a real gold mine of ideas for further research to everybody interested in this very far-reaching subject including chemists, biologists, physicists, geologists and even cosmochemists.<br>
Every chemist working with chiral compounds and also every biologist has obviously already asked the question: How did the molecular and macroscopic homochirality of biological systems evolve starting from a racemic prebiological world? And furthermore, how perfect is this homochirality and what are its general consequences? This book which is based on the contributions presented at an international symposium on biological homochirality offers the first comprehensive review of these fundamental questions of biochirality. It is a real gold mine of ideas for further research to everybody interested in this very far-reaching subject including chemists, biologists, physicists, geologists and even cosmochemists. --Laszlo Marko, University of Veszprem, Hungary
Author Information
Dr. Pályi is a Professor (Retired) of Chemistry of the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia (Modena, Italy) and member of the (Italian) National Academy of Science as well as other Academies. He has authored and edited 5 books on chemistry, patents, and 250 publications cited more than 2000 times by other authors. He has been the chief organizer of the International Symposia on Biological Chirality (since 1998) and of the International Symposia on the Soai Reaction (since 2008).
