Introduction to Chemical Biology

Chemical biology strives to answer biological questions utilizing chemical techniques and principles. With an understanding of both organic and biochemistry as well as cell biology chemical biologists have the ability to probe biological function with a unique set of tools. Introduction to Chemical Biology offers an interdisciplinary approach to this subject for both chemist and biologists. It provides a detailed introduction to the discipline, and tackles the practical aspects of working in a chemical biology laboratory. After a complete discussion of the tools and techniques of chemical biology, this book delves into more advanced topics such as target identification. Topics covered include: * the basics of chemical biology: amino acids; protein structure; enzyme kinetics; DNA; replication, transcription and translation; cell structure and cell division * chemical biology tools: recombinant protein expression/purification; PCR; analysis of DNA, RNA, and protein levels; chemical genetics and RNAi; fluorescence microscopy and related techniques; facile chemical reactions for use as biomolecular probes; combinatorial chemistry; high-throughput screening * applications of chemical biology: target identification; incorporation of novel amino acids into proteins; combinatorial biosysnthesis of natural products; DNA binders; activity based profiling; the molecular basis for cancer; targeted therapeutics; structure based drug design; stem cells and regenerative medicine; proteomics Introduction to Chemical Biology distills the essence of this important topic for undergraduate and postgraduate students, and for researchers in other fields interested in getting a general insight into this increasingly important interdisciplinary subject