Alexander Todd, the 1957 Nobel laureate in chemistry is credited with the statement: “where there is life, there is phosphorus”. Phosphorus chemical biology underlies most of life’s reactions and processes, from the covalent bonds that hold RNA and DNA together, to the making and spending 75 kg of ATP every day, required to run almost all metabolic and mechanical events in cells. Authored by a renowned biochemist, The Chemical Biology of Phosphorus provides an in-depth, unifying chemical approach to the logic and reactivity of inorganic phosphate and its three major derivatives (anhydrides, mono- and diesters) throughout biology to examine why life depends on phosphorus. Covering the breadth of phosphorus chemistry in biology, this book is ideal for biochemistry students, postgraduates and researchers interested in the chemical logic of phosphate metabolites, energy generation, biopolymer accumulation and phosphoproteomics.

This 1981 introduction to the chemistry of a single element, phosphorus, covers many of the major themes of chemistry. Important in inorganic and organic chemistry and in biochemistry, phosphorus is also of considerable economic significance and plays a vital role in the biosphere. By presenting a detailed treatment of selected topics, this book provides a concise account of phosphorus chemistry suitable for anyone with an interest in the field. The book provides a survey of phosphorus compounds by structural and bond types, a review of physical methods in phosphorus chemistry, a review of basicity and co-ordination chemistry of phosphorus donors, a discussion of phosphorus in its group, and a chapter on reagents containing phosphorus in general chemistry. A critical bibliography introduces the reader to the advanced literature. S. I. Units are used throughout, but c.g.s units are also given when appropriate.

This book aims to open new fields of interest in phosphate chemistry and to suggest a new system of classification for phosphates. Due to the very rapid development of this branch of chemistry during the last thirty years and the very confusing nomenclature often used in chemical literature, this first attempt seems not only justified but necessary. The suggested classification is not revolutionary, with respect to condensed phosphates for instance, but establishes clear boundaries between some categories of compounds such as adducts and heteropolyanion-compounds. The first chapters cover the present state of phosphate chemistry in a general way and could serve as an introduction to phosphates for some categories of students or teachers. The next few chapters are devoted to more specialized topics which would be of interest to chemists, crystallographers or solid-state specialists.Some specific aspects of the crystal chemistry of phosphates, such as the geometry of the networks built by acidic phosphoric anions, for instance, are covered for the first time. The final chapter suggests some improvements for the present system of classification for phosphates.In addition, presented for the first time are the results recently obtained for the replacement of asbestos by harmless biodegradable phosphate fibers.

Phosphorus-Nitrogen Compounds: Cyclic, Linear, and High Polymeric Systems concerns itself with the chemistry of compounds containing alternating phosphorus - nitrogen atoms in the skeleton. The monograph aims to be an introduction to phosphorus-nitrogen chemistry, a review of advances in the field, and reference work. The text is divided into three parts. Part I covers the introduction, historical background, and nomenclature of phosphorus-nitrogen compounds and the theories in bonding and structure of phosphazenes and phosphazanes. Part II deals with reactions such as the synthesis of the phosphorus-nitrogen skeleton, hydrolysis of phosphazenes and phosphazanes, and the aminolysis of halophosphazenes. Part III discusses polymer chemistry and includes topics such as polymerization, depolymerization, and phosphazene polymers. The book is recommended for students and practitioners in the field of chemistry, especially those concerned with phosphorus nitrogen compounds and polymeric systems.

Nuclear Magnetic Resonance is a powerful tool, especially for the identification of 1 13 hitherto unknown organic compounds. H- and C-NMR spectroscopy is known and applied by virtually every synthetically working Organic Chemist. Con- quently, the factors governing the differences in chemical shift values, based on chemical environment, bonding, temperature, solvent, pH, etc. , are well understood, and specialty methods developed for almost every conceivable structural challenge. Proton and carbon NMR spectroscopy is part of most bachelors degree courses, with advanced methods integrated into masters degree and other graduate courses. In view of this universal knowledge about proton and carbon NMR spectr- copy within the chemical community, it is remarkable that heteronuclear NMR is still looked upon as something of a curiosity. Admittedly, most organic compounds contain only nitrogen, oxygen, and sulfur atoms, as well as the obligatory hydrogen and carbon atoms, elements that have an unfavourable isotope distribution when it comes to NMR spectroscopy. Each of these three elements has a dominant isotope: 14 16 32 16 32 N (99. 63% natural abundance), O (99. 76%), and S (95. 02%), with O, S, and 34 14 S (4. 21%) NMR silent. N has a nuclear moment I = 1 and a sizeable quadrupolar moment that makes the NMR signals usually very broad and dif cult to analyse.