Essentials of Chemical Biology
Structures and Dynamics of Biological Macromolecules In Vitro and In Vivo
2. Edition February 2024
560 Pages, Softcover
Textbook
Essentials of Chemical Biology
Discover a detailed knowledge of concepts and techniques that shape this unique multi-discipline
Chemical Biology is devoted to understanding the way that Biology works at the molecular level. This is a problem-driven multi-discipline, incorporating as it does Organic, Physical, Inorganic, and Analytical Chemistry alongside newer emerging molecular disciplines. In recent years, Chemical Biology has emerged as a vibrant and growing multi-discipline distinct from Biochemistry that is focused on the quantitative analyses of the structures and functions of biological macromolecules and macromolecular lipid assemblies, at first in isolation, then in vitro and in vivo.
The second edition of the Essentials of Chemical Biology begins with a thorough introduction to the structure of biological macromolecules and macromolecular lipid assemblies, before moving on to the principles of chemical and biological synthesis, followed by descriptions of a comprehensive variety of research techniques and experimental methods. In addition, the second edition now includes new sections on the behaviour of biological macromolecules and macromolecular lipid assemblies in cells in vitro and in organisms in vivo. Given this, the second edition of the Essentials of Chemical Biology promises to cement itself as the leading introduction to Chemical Biology, incorporating descriptions of cutting-edge research wherever appropriate. Hence, readers of the second edition of the Essentials of Chemical Biology will find:
* a general expansion in understanding of basic molecular mechanisms in Biology moving towards cellular and organismal mechanisms
* entirely new chapters covering miniaturization and array technologies, Chemical Cell Biology, and the interface between Chemical Biology and Nanotechnology
* updates to chapters reflecting recent research developments
* an increased engagement with medical applications
Essentials of Chemical Biology is ideal for advanced undergraduates or (post) graduate students in Chemical Biology and adjacent fields.
Glossary of Physical and Chemical Terms xii
About the Companion Website xviii
1 The Structures of Biological Macromolecules and Lipid Assemblies 1
1.1 General introduction 1
1.2 Protein structures 3
1.3 Carbohydrate structures 20
1.4 Nucleic acid structures 31
1.5 Macromolecular lipid assemblies 53
1.6 Structural forces in biological macromolecules 60
2 Chemical and Biological Synthesis 68
2.1 Introduction to synthesis in chemical biology 68
2.2 Chemical synthesis of peptides and proteins 68
2.3 Chemical synthesis of nucleic acids 75
2.4 Chemical synthesis of oligosaccharides 84
2.5 Chemical synthesis of lipids 87
2.6 Biological synthesis of biological macromolecules 89
2.7 Directed biological synthesis of proteins 97
2.8 Biological syntheses of nucleic acids, oligosaccharides and lipids 102
3 Molecular Biology as a Toolset for Chemical Biology 104
3.1 Key concepts in molecular biology 104
3.2 Tools and techniques in molecular biology 108
3.3 Cloning and identification of genes in DNA 117
3.4 Integrating cloning and expression 123
3.5 Site-directed mutagenesis 125
4 Electronic and Vibrational Spectroscopy 128
4.1 Electronic and vibrational spectroscopy in chemical biology 128
4.2 Ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy 128
4.3 Circular dichroism spectroscopy 134
4.4 Vibrational spectroscopy 138
4.5 Fluorescence spectroscopy 141
4.6 Probing metal centres by absorption spectroscopy 163
5 Magnetic Resonance 164
5.1 Magnetic resonance in chemical biology 164
5.2 Key principles of NMR 164
5.3 Two-dimensional NMR 176
5.4 Multidimensional NMR 180
5.5 Biological macromolecule structural information 183
5.6 Electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy: key principles 193
6 Diffraction and Microscopy 199
6.1 Diffraction and microscopy in chemical biology 199
6.2 Key principles of X-ray diffraction 199
6.3 Structural information from X-ray diffraction 206
6.4 Neutron diffraction 216
6.5 Key principles of electron microscopy 217
6.6 Key principles of scanning probe microscopy 224
7 Molecular Recognition and Binding 232
7.1 Molecular recognition and binding in chemical biology 232
7.2 Theoretical models of binding 245
7.3 Analysing molecular recognition and binding 251
7.4 Biological molecular recognition studies 263
8 Kinetics and Catalysis 278
8.1 Catalysis in chemical biology 278
8.2 Steady state kinetic schemes 300
8.3 Pre-steady-state kinetics 323
8.4 Theories of biocatalysis 328
8.5 Electron transfer 346
9 Mass Spectrometry and Proteomics 348
9.1 Mass spectrometry in chemical biology 348
9.2 Key principles in mass spectrometry 349
9.3 Structural analysis of biological macromolecules and lipids by mass spectrometry 359
9.4 The challenge of proteomics 368
9.5 Genomics: assigning function to genes and proteins 375
10 Molecular Selection and Evolution 378
10.1 Chemical biology and the origins of life 378
10.2 Molecular breeding: natural selection acting on self-organisation 383
10.3 Directed evolution of protein function 385
10.4 Directed evolution of nucleic acids 390
10.5 Catalytic antibodies 398
11 Chemical Biology of Cells 401
11.1 General introduction 401
11.2 Array technologies, microfluidics and miniaturisation 401
11.3 Chemical genetics and potential new therapeutics 403
11.4 Chemical cellular dynamics 412
11.5 Chemical biology and in vivo cell connectomics 415
12 Chemical Biology of Stem Cells to Tissue Engineering 421
12.1 General introduction 421
12.2 Chemical stem cell biology 421
12.3 The road to cell therapies 437
12.4 Tissue engineering 439
13 Chemical Biology, Nanomedicine and Advanced Therapeutics 441
13.1 General introduction 441
13.2 The chemical biology approach to gene therapy 441
13.3 Biophysical characterisation of LNPs 467
13.4 Applications of LNPs with small molecule drugs 471
14 Chemical Biology and Advanced Diagnostics Leading to Precision Therapeutic Approaches 472
14.1 General introduction 472
14.2 MRI basic principles leading to diagnostic applications 472
14.3 PET/CT and SPECT fundamentals 477
14.4 Understanding how to control nanoparticle biodistribution behaviour in vivo 478
14.5 Theranostics 479
15 DNA Nanotechnology 489
15.1 Background 489
15.2 Three-dimensional DNA nanostructures 491
15.3 Dynamic DNA nanostructures 496
15.4 Biomedical applications of DNA nanostructures 500
Bibliography 502
Index 519
Julian A. Tanner, PhD, is a Professor of the School of Biomedical Sciences, Assistant Dean of the LKS Faculty of Medicine, and Director of the Common Core at the University of Hong Kong.