Chemical biology is a rapidly developing branch of chemistry, which sets out to understand the way biology works at the molecular level. Fundamental to chemical biology is a detailed understanding of the syntheses, structures and behaviours of biological macromolecules and macromolecular lipid assemblies that together represent the primary constituents of all cells and all organisms. The subject area of chemical biology bridges many different disciplines and is fast becoming an integral part of academic and commercial research.
The first edition of Essentials of Chemical Biology was intended to provide a detailed knowledge of concepts and techniques fundamental to the emerging discipline of chemical biology. In the nine years since publication of this first edition, there have been major steps forward in this field that can be characterized broadly as a progression from in vitro to in vivo . In other words, chemical biology today is still about understanding basic biological mechanisms at a fundamental, molecular level in vitro, but the field is also increasingly seeking to understand biological mechanisms in vivo too, leading to applications in medicine. Updates to the second edition are intended to reflect this in vitro to in vivo transition so bringing the textbook up to date with recent developments in chemical biology and also with the main directions in which this maturing discipline is now heading. As well as updating the ten chapters of the first edition, the authors will include three new chapters, an eleventh chapter on miniaturization and array technologies, a twelfth chapter on chemical cell biology, and a thirteenth chapter on the Interface between chemical biology and nanotechnology. These represent newer aspects of chemical biology that seem particularly certain to expand the horizons of what is currently possible in chemical biology research today.
