Sulfur Centered Reactive Intermediates In Chemistry And Biology

A wonderfully successful NATO Advanced Study Institute on "Sulfur-Centered Reactive Intermediates in Chemistry and Biology" was held 18-30 June, 1989, at the Hotel Villa del Mare in Maratea, Italy. Despite the beautiful setting with mountains behind us and over looking the clear blue Mediterranean Sea under a cloudless sky (and with a private beach available), the lectures were extremely well attended. While some credit can go to the seriousness of the students, more must go to the calibre of speakers and the high quality of C. Chatgilialoglu, and Co-Director, Professor K. -D. their presentations. The Director, Dr. Asmus, are to be congratulated for putting together such an outstanding scientific program. Dr. Chatgilialoglu is also to be commended for arranging an equally stimulating social pro gram which included bus, train and boat trips to many local sites of interest. It was particularly fitting that a meeting on the chemistry and biochemistry of sulfur should be held in Italy since Italian chemists have made major contributions to our under standing of the organic chemistry of sulfur, including the chemistry of its reactive inter mediates. The early Italian interest in sulfur chemistry arose from the fact that Italy, or more specifically, Sicily, was a major world producer of sulfur prior to the development and exploitation of the Frasch process in Texas and Louisiana.

Since biological tissues are unstable in an oxygen atmosphere, a great deal of effort is expended by organisms to metabolically limit or repair oxidative tissue damage. This volume of Methods in Enzymology and its companion Volume 234 present methods developed to investigate the roles of oxygen radicals and antioxidants in disease. Key Features* Generation, detection, and characterization of oxygen radicals, chemistry, biochemistry, and intermediate states of reductio* Isolation, characterization, and assay of enzymes or substrates involved in formation or removal of oxygen radical* Methods for assessing molecular, cell, and tissue damage; assays and repair of oxidative damage.

The chemistry of reactive intermediates is central to a modern mechanistic and quantitative understanding of organic chemistry. Moreover, it underlies a significant portion of modern synthetic chemistry and is integral to a molecular view of biological chemistry. Reviews in Reactive Intermediate Chemistry presents an up-to-date, authoritative guide to this fundamental topic. Although it follows Reactive Intermediate Chemistry by the same authors, it serves as a free-standing resource for the entire chemical and biochemical community. The book includes: Relevant, practical applications Coverage of such topics as mass spectrometry methods, reactive intermediates in interstellar medium, quantum mechanical tunnelling, solvent effects, reactive intermediates in biochemical processes, and excited state surfaces Discussions of emerging areas, particularly those involving dynamics and theories Concluding sections identifying key directions for future research are provided at the end of each chapter

During the twentieth century, radiation chemistry emerged as a multi-faceted field encompassing all areas of science. Radiation chemical techniques are becoming increasingly popular and are being routinely used not only by chemists but also by biologists, polymer scientists, etc. "Radiation Chemistry: Present Status and Future Trends" presents an overall view of the different aspects of the subject. The chapters review the current status of the field and present the future opportunities in utilizing radiation chemical techniques. This will be of interest to chemists in general and in particular to radiation chemists, chemical kineticists, photochemists, physical-organic chemists and spectroscopists. In view of the diverse nature of the field, the book is a multi-authored effort by several experts in their particular areas of research. Six main areas, both basic and applied, were identified and the book is organized around them. The topics were selected in terms of their relative importance and the contribution of radiation chemistry to the general areas of chemistry, biology and physics. The topics covered are as diverse as gas phase radiation chemistry, the use of radiation chemical techniques, the treatment of water pollutants, the chemical basis of radiation biology, and muonium chemistry. The book also contains an update of the next generation electron accelerators.

Despite more than 200 years of sulfur research the chemistry of elemental sulfur and sulfur-rich compounds is still full of “white spots” which have to be filled in with solid knowledge and reliable data. This situation is parti- larly regrettable since elemental sulfur is one of the most important raw - terials of the chemical industry produced in record-breaking quantities of ca. 35 million tons annually worldwide and mainly used for the production of sulfuric acid. Fortunately, enormous progress has been made during the last 30 years in the understanding of the “yellow element”. As the result of extensive inter- tional research activities sulfur has now become the element with the largest number of allotropes, the element with the largest number of binary oxides, and also the element with the largest number of binary nitrides. Sulfur, a typical non-metal, has been found to become a metal at high pressure and is even superconducting at 10 K under a pressure of 93 GPa and at 17 K at 260 GPa, respectively. This is the highest critical temperature of all chemical elements. Actually, the pressure-temperature phase diagram of sulfur is one of the most complicated of all elements and still needs further investigation.

This volume is a review of the trends in the field of radiation chemistry research. It covers a broad spectrum of topics, ranging from the historical perspective, instrumentation of accelerators in the nanosecond to femtosecond region, through the use ofradiation chemical methods in the study of antioxidants and nanomaterials, radiation-induced DNA damage by ionizing radiation involving both direct and indirect effects, to ultrafast events in free electron transfer, radiation-induced processes at solid-liquid interfaces and the recent work on infrared spectroscopy and radiation chemistry. The book is unique in that it covers a wide spectrum of topics that will be of great interest to beginners as well as experts. Recent data on ultrafast phenomena from the recently established world-class laser-driven accelerators facilities in the US, France and Japan are reviewed.

This book was inspired by the presentations delivered at the Oxidative Damage & Repair Symposium (November, 1990). The book is organized into 20 chapters which mirror the 20 session topics of the Oxidative Damage & Repair Symposium.

Interest in the science of exercise dates back to the time of ancient Greece. Today exercise is viewed not only as a leisurely activity but also as an effective preventive and therapeutic tool in medicine. Further biomedical studies in exercise physiology and biochemistry reports that strenuous physical exercise might cause oxidative lipid damage in various tissues. The generation of reactive oxygen species is elevated to a level that overwhelms the tissue antioxidant defense systems resulting in oxidative stress. The Handbook of Oxidants and Antioxidants in Exercise examines the different aspects of exercise-induced oxidative stress, its management, and how reactive oxygen may affect the functional capacity of various vital organs and tissues. It includes key related issues such as analytical methods, environmental factors, nutrition, aging, organ function and several pathophysiological processes. This timely publication will be of relevance to those in biomedical science and was designed to be readily understood by the general scientific audience.

This volume of Methods in Enzymology is a companion to Volume 347 and addresses direct sensing of reactive oxygen species and related free radicals by thiol enzymes and proteins.