Robert M Williams – författare

Since the publication of "Organic Syntheses Based on Name Reactions and Unnamed Reactions"(Volume 11 in the Tetrahedron Organic Chemistry series), there has been a proliferation of discoveries of name reactions in the field of organic chemistry. Hence, this, the second, revised, edition of the text has focused on the ongoing development in this area of research. The revised title reflects the notion whereby many new reagents and reactions are now being referred to by their names. The inclusion of over 155 new stereoselective and regioselective reagents or reactions including asymmetric syntheses, brings the total to over 540. Features that should be valuable to the reader include over 3000 references, a names index, reagent index, reaction index and a functional group transformation index. The latter of these indexes will allow the reader to search for conversions of one functional group to another and has proved a much utilized tool for the synthetic chemist, searching for pathways to perform synthetic procedures.

This text provides an integrated evaluation of the diversity of natural products in relation to biodiversity. The ongoing exploitation of biological resources, while maintaining an effective equilibrium on Earth, depends much on the conservation of biodiversity. To this end, parts one and two focus on biodiversity from all viewpoints, while explaining the link with natural products. The third section concentrates on the molecular-shape level, as a link to ecosystem and biodiversity, while the fourth section tackles actual functionalization, as a link to biodiversity at species level. Part five addresses the diversification of these resources from biotechnology and chemical technology, while the final part is concerned with maintaining natural product diversity on Earth.