Neoglycoconjugates are not only useful for the basic understanding of protein-carbohydrate interactions, but they have many practical applications as well. They are powerful reagents in many cell biology studies and excellent tools for the isolation and characterization of animal and plant lectins, separation of cells, as well as for the targeting of drugs, artificial vaccines, and diagnostic reagents. Volume 247 and its companion Volume 242 contain many practical methods on how to prepare and use neoglycoconjugates. Volume 242 deals with synthesis and 247 with biomedical applications.
C. Harry Arsenis
These two books (Part A and Part B) part of the ever growing series of books in Methods in Enzymology dealing with neoglycoconjugates. The first volume deals with the synthesis of this group of molecules and the second volume deals with the biomedical applications of these molecules. The book is written in the customary format of small chapters written by experts in the field. The purpose of volume 242 is to describe the synthesis of different neoglycoconjugates bound to different materials of lipid, protein, or carbohydrate origin. The moieties to be conjugated have a natural origin or are synthetically made. The objectives of the book are particularly worthy in view of the recent interest in the use of natural products in medicine and industry. The specific objective of the book is to describe the exact methodologies for the chemical synthesis of the glycoconjugates. The book meets the authors' objectives. The book is written for chemists and other research scientists who are in search of synthetic or natural matrices for the testing of different ligands in medicine or industry. The methodologies described provide accurate procedures for the synthesis of chemomimetics for laboratory or industrial applications. It is also written for the advanced student or researcher specialist in search of a matrix-ligand combination suitable for his/her system of study. The book is adequately illustrated for a specialized publication using the standard pattern characteristic for a scientific publication. The references are quite current (latest 1993) and pertinent for the subject. The appearance of the volume follows the well established characteristics of this Old Series' with no surprises. Thechemistry of carbohydrates as well as the biochemistry of carbohydrate-related compounds has gained prominence in the last 15 years, since it was established that cells communicate and sense various stimuli in their environment by using antennas made up of carbohydrate moieties. These moieties are attached to various fixed or insoluble structures. Consequently, the chemical synthesis or isolation in pure form of these conjugates is a valuable system for research and development in both medicine and industry. Furthermore, there has been an increased interest in various industries for the exploitation of natural products. Although several books have recently published with the same main topic or related topics, the publication of these two volumes is fully justified.