G. Ferreira – Handbook of Porphyrin Science (Volumes 26-30) With Applications to Chemistry, Physics, Biology and Medicine

Автор: G. Ferreira
Название книги: Handbook of Porphyrin Science (Volumes 26 – 30) : With Applications to Chemistry, Physics, Materials Science, Engineering, Biology and Medicine (2013)
Формат: PDF
Жанр: Химия
Страницы: 2499
Качество: Изначально компьютерное, E-book

This 5-volume set provides a comprehensive review of the most up-to-date research on porphyrin, heme and chlorophyll biochemistry, as well as applications to biomedicine and bio-inspired energy. In-depth coverage of topics along with perspectives on outstanding questions and future research directions by the authors make these volumes an essential resource for both beginning and advanced investigators in the field. It is also suitable for non-experts in porphyrin, who wish to have an overview of the fundamental discoveries and breakthroughs in the porphyrin arena related to medicine and bio-inspired energy.

Bringing together the biochemistry of porphyrin-binding proteins and their clinical relevance and applications to medicine and renewable energy, this set provides readers with an integrated coverage of porphyrin biochemistry. At the same time, it challenges readers with new questions and perspectives of research regarding the role of porphyrin biochemistry in the future of medicine and renewable energy.

Readership: Graduate students, academics, researchers, and healthy and industry professionals in the fields of heme and chlorophylls and their application to biomedicine and bio-inspired energy.

Vol. 26 Heme Biochemistry
Vol. 27 Erythropoiesis, Heme and Applications to Biomedicine
Vol. 28 Chlorophyll, Photosynthesis and Bio-inspired Energy
Vol. 29 Porphyrias and Sideroblastic Anemias
Vol. 30 Heme Proteins — Part II

It was with a certain trepidation that I embarked on this project of organizing and
editing a five-volume set on Porphyrin Biochemistry with an emphasis on
Applications to Biomedicine and Bio-inspired Energy. While the accelerated
research developments and expanded applied interest in the biochemistry of porphyrins
and natural porphyrinoid pigments during this past decade made it a particularly
opportune time to assess these developments, three issues concerned me:
1) Would there be a readership?, 2) What would be the best forum to implement
such a project?, and 3) Would leading investigators contribute with comprehensive
chapters? After pondering these questions, I realized that despite the explosion of
printed journals and electronic media and platforms as vehicles for scientific information,
the pursuit of science will always depend on serious review of present and
past literature. Based on this premise, I assured myself that there should be an
eager “Porphyrin Science” readership, who not only have the same passion for
porphyrins, but will also propagate interest in the mysteries and intricacies of the
“porphyrin world” to younger and newer investigators. Probably now more than
ever, scientists need help in foraging through the mass of literature in order to read
broadly yet be selective and discern among the publishable material, which, unfortunately,
does not always meet scientific rigor. Thus, my second concern was
quickly dispelled when I found that my ‘project’ could be incorporated into a fivevolume
set (Volumes 26–30) in the “Handbook of Porphryrin Science”, which
consistently has been the premier forum in the dissemination of the porphyrin and
tetrapyrrole research and applications for the past two decades.
With the constant pressure to secure funding in this present era of tight budgets,
scientists find themselves ‘time-limited’ and, understandably, reluctant to take
on additional activities, such as developing and writing a comprehensive and upto-
date scientific review. And so my third concern lingered until I received the
replies to my invitations. To my delight, the vast majority of the invited scientists
accepted the invitation, or more bluntly, the challenge.
I am indebted to the authors of the chapters in this five-volume set for their
generosity with time, their dedication and commitment to this project, the breadth
of their reviews and lastly, but so importantly, adherence to deadlines. Clearly, it
was their effort that has converted the idea of this project into reality. I hope that the reader will enjoy the chapters as much as I did and will participate in spreading
the knowledge of porphyrin science to the broader scientific community.
Finally, I would like to gratefully acknowledge Professors Karl Kadish, Kevin
Smith and Roger Guilard for allowing me to organize and edit Volumes 26–30 of
the “Handbook of Porphryrin Science”, and I especially thank Professors Smith
and Kadish for their encouragement, help, advice and prompt replies to my
numerous emails. A big thank you goes to the copy editors, production team and
World Scientific Publishing Company for their tireless work and expertise that
brought this project to fruition