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Biological Inorganic Chemistry

Ivano Bertini University of Florence
Harry B. Gray California Institute of Technology
Edward I. Stiefel Princeton University
Joan Selverstone Valentine University of California, Los Angeles
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Organized and edited by Ivano Bertini, Harry Gray, Ed Stiefel, and Joan Valentine, with contributions from many other world leaders in the field, this all-new book is equally appropriate for graduate or senior undergraduate courses in bioinorganic chemistry. The book has been extensively class-tested at Princeton and UCLA, and it includes tutorials in biology and biochemistry and in inorganic chemistry to aid students of varying backgrounds.

Print Book, ISBN 978-1-938787-96-6, US $114
eBook, eISBN 978-1-938787-01-0, US $89
766 pages, Copyright 2007, softbound.

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Summary

The long awaited text for 21st century courses in biological inorganic chemistry is now available. Organized and edited by Ivano Bertini, Harry Gray, Ed Stiefel, and Joan Valentine, with contributions from many other world leaders in the field, this all-new book is equally appropriate for graduate or senior undergraduate courses in bioinorganic chemistry. The book has been extensively class-tested at Princeton and UCLA, and it includes tutorials in biology and biochemistry and in inorganic chemistry to aid students of varying backgrounds. The main text is divided into two parts. Part A, “Overviews of Biological Inorganic Chemistry,” sets forth the unifying principles of the field. A full course in bioinorganic chemistry could be based entirely on this overview section, which is a really a book within a book! Part B, “Metal-Ion Containing Biological Systems,” describes specific classes of systems in detail. A special feature is the strong connection to the genomic revolution that has dramatically enhanced our ability to define the function of gene products in living organisms. Throughout the book, protein data bank codes are given for structures discussed in the text, and students are encouraged to learn to use the PDB in their courses and research. This exciting new book will be a must read for years to come for all students and researchers interested in the field of biological inorganic chemistry.

Translated into Russian.

Ancillaries

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Resources

List of Adoptions
Preface
Full TOC and frontmatter
Contributor Listing

Table of Contents

I  Introduction and Text Overview

PART A: OVERVIEWS OF BIOLOGICAL INORGANIC CHEMISTRY

II  Bioinorganic chemistry and the biogeochemical cycles
III  Metal ions and proteins: Binding, stability and folding
IV  Special cofactors and metal clusters
V  Transport and storage of metal ions in biology
VI  Biominerals and biomineralization
VII  Metals in medicine

PART B: METAL-ION CONTAINING BIOLOGICAL SYSTEMS

VIII  Metal ion transport and storage
IX  Hydrolytic chemistry
X  Electron transfer, respiration and photosynthesis
XI  Oxygen metabolism
XII  Hydrogen, carbon, nitrogen, and sulfur metabolism
XIII  Metalloenzymes with radical intermediates
XIV Metal ion receptors and signaling

TUTORIALS

Tutorial I  Cell biology, biochemistry and evolution
Tutorial II  Fundamentals of coordination chemistry

Appendices

Index

Reviews

“I heartily recommend this exciting book as an excellent senior-and graduate-level textbook as well as a reference source for both students and seasoned researchers alike. With its cutting-edge material, it should remain definitive many years to come.”
-Chem Educator

“A fantastic book that I can’t wait to get on my shelf.”
-Sonya J. Franklin, University of Iowa

“An indispensable book…Highly recommended for upper-division undergraduates through professionals.”
-Choice, July 07

“Excellent and comprehensive…appropriate for use both as a textbook and as a reference.”
-Kara Bren, University of Rochester

Ivano Bertini University of Florence

Ivano Bertini is Professor of Chemistry and Director of the Magnetic Resonance Center of the University of Florence. His main research interests are the advancements in nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, the expression and preparation of metalloproteins, their structural characterization and the investigation of their interactions with emphasis on understanding cellular processes at the molecular level. He has over 600 papers and many books. He has received the Chugaev Diploma of Kurnakov Institute of the Academy of Science, URSS, in 1981, the Golden Medal of the Magnetic Resonance Group of the Italian Chemical Society, in 1991, Prize Accademia dei Lincei, Italy, in 1993, Bijvoet Medal, Utrecht, NL, in 1998, Sapio NMR Prize, Italy, in 1999 and the Cannizzaro Medal of the Italian Chemical Society and the Basolo Medal in 2006. Amongst the special lectures: A.D. Little Lecturer at MIT, Cambridge, MS, USA, in 1997, E.L. Mütterties Lecturer at Berkeley, CA, USA, in 1997 and FECS lecturer, Athens in 2002. He has received three honorary doctorates. He is a member of the Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei and of the Academia Europaea.

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Harry B. Gray

Harry B. Gray California Institute of Technology

Harry Barkus Gray is the Arnold O. Beckman Professor of Chemistry and the Founding Director of the Beckman Institute at the California Institute of Technology. His main research interests center on inorganic spectroscopy, photochemistry, and bioinorganic chemistry, with emphasis on understanding electron transfer in proteins. For his contributions to chemistry, which include over 700 papers and 17 books, he has received the National Medal of Science from President Ronald Reagan (1986); the Linderstrøm-Lang Prize (1991); the Basolo Medal (1994); the Gibbs Medal (1994); the Chandler Medal (1999); the Harvey Prize (2000); the Nichols Medal (2003); the National Academy of Sciences Award in Chemical Sciences (2003); the Benjamin Franklin Medal in Chemistry (2004); the Wolf Prize in Chemistry (2004); the City of Florence Prize in Molecular Sciences (2006); six national awards from the American Chemical Society, including the Priestley Medal (1991); and 16 honorary doctorates. He is a member of the National Academy of Sciences; the American Academy of Arts and Sciences; the American Philosophical Society; an honorary member of the Italian Chemical Society; a foreign member of the Royal Danish Academy of Sciences and Letters; the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences; and the Royal Society of Great Britain. He was California Scientist of the Year in 1988.

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Edward I. Stiefel Princeton University

Edward I. Stiefel, Professor of Chemistry at Princeton University and associated faculty member of the Princeton Environmental Institute until his untimely death in summer of 2006. His research involved the role of metal ions in biological systems including: iron in marine environments, especially the iron storage and DNA protective proteins ferritin and Dps; the biological production of hydrogen by phototropic hydrogenases and theoretical studies of hydrogenase action; the role of molybdenum in biology; and aspects of metals in medicine. He taught courses on the Elements of Life for freshman, Astrobiology for sophomores and Metals in Biology for advanced undergraduates and graduate students. He served on the Board of Reviewing Editors of Science and the Board of Editors of the Journal of Inorganic Biochemistry. Stiefel was the Sacconi Lecturer in Florence in 2002 and the Distinguished Lecturer at the University of Louisville in 2003 where he was named a Kentucky Colonel by the Governor of Kentucky. He won the American Chemical Society Award in Inorganic Chemistry for the year 2000. Ed Stiefel will be greatly missed by all who knew him.

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Joan Selverstone Valentine University of California, Los Angeles

Joan Selverstone Valentine is Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry at UCLA.  She is a leading figure working at the interface of inorganic chemistry and biology and has published over 200 research papers and several books, and her work is widely cited. She pioneered the chemistry of the superoxide anion, and her discoveries have been fundamental to our understanding of the biological reactions of dioxygen and its interactions with metalloenzymes. Particularly notable in recent years are her demonstrations of the remarkable nucleophilic properties of iron porphyrin peroxo complexes, development of novel sol-gel techniques to entrap biological macromolecules in an optically transparent rigid matrix, and her ongoing detailed biophysical characterization of mutant copper-zinc superoxide dismutase enzymes that cause Lou Gehrig’s disease. She is a recipient of several awards, including the John C. Bailar, Jr. Medal, has held numerous distinguished lectureships in the United States and abroad, and was recently elected to membership in the National Academy of Science. She is Editor-in-Chief of Accounts of Chemical Research, an American Chemical Society journal.  

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