An Introduction to Biotransformations in Organic Chemistry (Biochemical and Medicinal Chemistry Series)

Biotransformations utilize biological systems to carry out chemical transformations. The use of both isolated enzymes and whole organisms in biotransformations is considered . Such processes are playing an increasingly important role in both the research laboratory and in industry because biotransformations occur under mild, 'environmentally friendly' conditions and they have a selectivity which often differs from that encountered with syntheses using traditional laboratory reagents.This accessible introduction to this growing field provides an up-to-date account of those situations in which biotransformations may present viable alternatives to purely chemical synthetic routes or be used in a complimentary manner to chemical reagents in a multi-step organic synthesis. Dr Hanson's concise introduction to this burgeoning field covers, in addition to enzymatic and microbial methods, the biotransformation of drugs in humans. It is suitable as a course text for advanced undergraduate and graduate students of chemistry and the biomedical sciences. No previous knowledge of biotransformations is assumed.