Continuing the tradition of providing significant and interesting procedures, Organic Syntheses, Collective Volume XII is a compilation of revised editions of Annual Volumes 85 through 89. The contents of this volume are organized by primarily by reaction type, with the precise classification made according to the bias of the editor, who attempted to ascertain the primary purpose or utility of the procedure.

Organic Syntheses: Volume 84 continues the tradition of providing significant and interesting procedures, which should prove worthwhile to many synthetic chemists working in increasingly diverse areas.

In the broad field of supramolecular chemistry, the design and hence the use of chemosensors for ion and molecule recognition have developed at an extroardinary rate. This imaginative and creative area which involves the interface of different disciplines, e.g. organic and inorganic chemistry, physical chemistry, biology, medicine, environmental science, is not only fundamental in nature. It is also clear that progress is most rewarding for several new sensor applications deriving from the specific signal delivered by the analyte-probe interaction. Indeed, if calcium sensing in real time for biological purposes is actually possible, owing to the emergence of efficient fluorescent receptors, other elements can also be specifically detected, identified and finally titrated using tailored chemosensors. Pollutants such as heavy metals or radionuclides are among the main targets since their detection and removal could be envisioned at very low concentrations with, in addition, sensors displaying specific and strong complexing abilities. Besides, various species of biological interest (or others, the list is large) including sugars and other micellaneous molecules such as oxygen and carbon dioxide can be actually probed with optodes and similar devices. The present volume in which the key lectures of the workshop are collected gives a survey of the main developments in the field. The success of the workshop mainly came from the high quality of the lectures, the invited short talks, the two posters sessions and the many very lively discussions which without doubt will produce positive outcomes.

This book is designed for those who have had no more than a brief introduction to organic chemistry and who require a broad understanding of the subject. The book is in two parts. In Part I, reaction mechanism is set in its wider context of the basic principles and concepts that underlie chemical reactions: chemical thermodynamics, structural theory, theories of reaction kinetics, mechanism itself and stereochemistry. In Part II these principles and concepts are applied to the formation of particular types of bonds, groupings, and compounds. The final chapter in Part II describes the planning and detailed execution of the multi-step syntheses of several complex, naturally occurring compounds.

This book illustrates and teaches the finer details of the tactics and strategies employed in the synthesis of organic molecules. As well as providing model answers to the problems, the book discusses, in detail, the reasons why particular strategies are chosen, and why, in given circumstances, alternative methods or routes may or may not be appropriate. As such it could be used as a stand alone volume for the teaching of organic chemistry with a modern and appropriate emphasis on synthesis. Extensive cross referencing to Principles of Organic Synthesis allows the two books to be used as companion volumes.

Homogeneous catalysis is an important strategy for the synthesis of high-valued chemicals. L. Brandsma has carefully selected and checked the experimental procedures illustrating the catalytic use of copper, nickel, and palladium compounds in organic synthesis. All procedures are on a preparative scale, make economic use of solvents and catalysts, avoid toxic substances and have high yields.