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Applications of NMR Spectroscopy to Problems in Stereochemistry and Conformational Analysis
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interaction, membrane fluidity of cells, immunology and synthesis (of spin labels). The next chapter is also entirely biological: Free Radical Studies in Biology and Medicine, by N. J. F. Dodd. This chapter demonstrates the high level of activity of biological applications of ESR even without considering spin label/probe investigations. ESR spectroscopists in Britain have been slow to take advantage of recent developments in instrumental techniques (lack of funding?) so it is most encouraging to see an invited chapter on such a technique. The final chapter in the volume is a review on Loop-gap Resonators, by J. S. Hyde and W. Froncisz, who have been largely responsible for their application to ESR. The resonators allow multifrequency ESR experiments to be carried out simply; they are suitable for pulse ESR and finally they can be used for in-vivo human NMR spectroscopy at 1.5 T. While the reviewer is saddened by the high cost of the book, he would be at a loss without it. There is one criticism, however, more care should have been taken in preparing the name index as some entries are missing. L. H. S.
Applications of NMR Spectroscopy to Problems in Stereochemistry and Conformational Analysis, edited by Y. Takeuchi and A. P. Marchand, VCH, Deerfield Beach, FL, 1986, pp. ix + 221, price DM 135.00. This book is Volume 6 of the series Methods in Stereochemical Analysis, edited by A. P. Marchand, and started in 1982. This volume includes six inde pendent chapters, an author index and a subject index. The first chapter, Guest-Host Chemistry and Conformational Analysis, by I. 0. Sutherland, illustrates the use of NMR spectroscopy for investigation of the dynamics of multimolecular complexes, mainly involving crown ethers and cryptands as “hosts” and ammonium-like cations as “guests”. Many of the systems discussed are of biological importance. The second chapter, NMR Studies in Liquid Crystals: Determination of Solute Molecular Geometry, by P. Diehl and J. Jokisaari, describes the use of NMR to determine molecular structure of partially oriented molecules in liquid crystal media, pointing out not only the benefits but also the limitations of the method. Chapter 3, Carbon-13 Nuclear Spin Relaxation Study as an Aid to Analysis of Chain Dynamics and Conformation of Macromolecules, by R. Kitamaru, starts with a fairly detailed introduction in the theory of magnetic relaxation by dipole-dipole interaction. In the second part of the chapter, some wellchosen examples of application of the method for studies of bio- and synthetic polymers in solution and solid state are presented. The fourth chapter, Stereochemical Studies in the Solid State, by T. Terao and F. Imashiro, outlines the basic principles of high-resolution solid-state 13C NMR and reviews some applications of the method (in combination with
163
‘H relaxation time measurements) for investigation of molecular motion and specific intermolecular interactions in solids. Regrettably, examples of application of the method for differentiation of diastereoisomers and/or enantiomers in solid state are not given. Chapter 5, Two-dimensional NMR Techniques to Determine Molecular Skeleton and Partial Structures of Organic Substances, by K. Nagayama, represents an introductory review in various two-dimensional (2D) NMR techniques currently used for determination of organic molecular structure. No specific examples for stereochemical applications are given, but a brief literature survey of recent uses of 2D NMR techniques to study proteins, nucleotides, saccharides and other natural products is included as an appendix. The last chapter, by H. Kessler and W. Bermel, on Conformational Analysis of Peptides by Two-Dimensional NMR Spectroscopy, starts with a useful discussion of some problems specific for peptide conformational analysis. The use of 2D techniques for obtaining NMR parameters and their assignment to the molecular fragments is outlined. Special attention is given to some recent 2D methods as relayed H-H and H-C COSY, COLOC, TOCSY, etc., which may be helpful to analyze NMR spectra with strong signal overlap and thus to assign all signals for peptides with molecular mass as high as 1000 Daltons. Due to the diversity of topics treated, relatively few specialists would be interested in all chapters of the book. However, the high quality of presentation by leading specialists in their respective areas makes this volume a valuable addition to any NMR and/or stereochemical library collection. s. L. s.
interaction, membrane fluidity of cells, immunology and synthesis (of spin labels). The next chapter is also entirely biological: Free Radical Studies in Biology and Medicine, by N. J. F. Dodd. This chapter demonstrates the high level of activity of biological applications of ESR even without considering spin label/probe investigations. ESR spectroscopists in Britain have been slow to take advantage of recent developments in instrumental techniques (lack of funding?) so it is most encouraging to see an invited chapter on such a technique. The final chapter in the volume is a review on Loop-gap Resonators, by J. S. Hyde and W. Froncisz, who have been largely responsible for their application to ESR. The resonators allow multifrequency ESR experiments to be carried out simply; they are suitable for pulse ESR and finally they can be used for in-vivo human NMR spectroscopy at 1.5 T. While the reviewer is saddened by the high cost of the book, he would be at a loss without it. There is one criticism, however, more care should have been taken in preparing the name index as some entries are missing. L. H. S.
Applications of NMR Spectroscopy to Problems in Stereochemistry and Conformational Analysis, edited by Y. Takeuchi and A. P. Marchand, VCH, Deerfield Beach, FL, 1986, pp. ix + 221, price DM 135.00. This book is Volume 6 of the series Methods in Stereochemical Analysis, edited by A. P. Marchand, and started in 1982. This volume includes six inde pendent chapters, an author index and a subject index. The first chapter, Guest-Host Chemistry and Conformational Analysis, by I. 0. Sutherland, illustrates the use of NMR spectroscopy for investigation of the dynamics of multimolecular complexes, mainly involving crown ethers and cryptands as “hosts” and ammonium-like cations as “guests”. Many of the systems discussed are of biological importance. The second chapter, NMR Studies in Liquid Crystals: Determination of Solute Molecular Geometry, by P. Diehl and J. Jokisaari, describes the use of NMR to determine molecular structure of partially oriented molecules in liquid crystal media, pointing out not only the benefits but also the limitations of the method. Chapter 3, Carbon-13 Nuclear Spin Relaxation Study as an Aid to Analysis of Chain Dynamics and Conformation of Macromolecules, by R. Kitamaru, starts with a fairly detailed introduction in the theory of magnetic relaxation by dipole-dipole interaction. In the second part of the chapter, some wellchosen examples of application of the method for studies of bio- and synthetic polymers in solution and solid state are presented. The fourth chapter, Stereochemical Studies in the Solid State, by T. Terao and F. Imashiro, outlines the basic principles of high-resolution solid-state 13C NMR and reviews some applications of the method (in combination with
163
‘H relaxation time measurements) for investigation of molecular motion and specific intermolecular interactions in solids. Regrettably, examples of application of the method for differentiation of diastereoisomers and/or enantiomers in solid state are not given. Chapter 5, Two-dimensional NMR Techniques to Determine Molecular Skeleton and Partial Structures of Organic Substances, by K. Nagayama, represents an introductory review in various two-dimensional (2D) NMR techniques currently used for determination of organic molecular structure. No specific examples for stereochemical applications are given, but a brief literature survey of recent uses of 2D NMR techniques to study proteins, nucleotides, saccharides and other natural products is included as an appendix. The last chapter, by H. Kessler and W. Bermel, on Conformational Analysis of Peptides by Two-Dimensional NMR Spectroscopy, starts with a useful discussion of some problems specific for peptide conformational analysis. The use of 2D techniques for obtaining NMR parameters and their assignment to the molecular fragments is outlined. Special attention is given to some recent 2D methods as relayed H-H and H-C COSY, COLOC, TOCSY, etc., which may be helpful to analyze NMR spectra with strong signal overlap and thus to assign all signals for peptides with molecular mass as high as 1000 Daltons. Due to the diversity of topics treated, relatively few specialists would be interested in all chapters of the book. However, the high quality of presentation by leading specialists in their respective areas makes this volume a valuable addition to any NMR and/or stereochemical library collection. s. L. s.