The last two decades have seen a rapid growth in the synthetic processing of both simple and complex molecules, aimed at meeting the needs of society in all aspects of life. Many efforts have been devoted to the development of new biologically active compounds, new materials with innovative properties such as bio-compatibility, new catalysts that allow highly selective transformations, and technologies that facilitate the synthetic pro cesses. This book is a compendium of recent progress in all these aspects of synthetic chemistry. It collects the lectures of the XII International Conference on Organic Synthesis, held in Venice from June 28 to July 2, 1998, in which the present state of art of this discipline has been reported. The topics covered include: combinatorial chemistry, new synthetic methods, stereo selective synthesis, metal-mediated synthesis, and target oriented synthesis. The book collects the contributions, in the mentioned topics, of 43 scientists from 19 different countries. The contributions presented in the Conference as plenary lectures are reported in the first section of the book. Particular attention has been dedicated to combinatorial chemistry, a new and promising methodology for the synthesis of libraries of pharmaco logically interesting compounds in order to allow the automatic pharmacological screening of thousands of compounds. The Conference has dedicated to combinatorial chemistry a mini-symposium in which scientists from academy and companies have described the current trends of this very new technology.

Current Trends in Organic Synthesis is a collection of papers presented at the Fourth International Conference on Organic Synthesis, held in Tokyo, Japan on August 22-27, 1982. This conference brings together the significant achievements in the diversified frontier fields of organic synthesis. This book is composed of 33 chapters. The first chapters focus on the synthesis of biologically active natural compounds, including metabolites of arachidonic acid, erythromycin A, verrucarins, steroids, anthracyclines, terpenes, yeast alanine t-RNA, beta-lactam antibiotics, and palitoxin. Other chapters deal with the central problems in stereoselective and chiral synthesis, as well as processes of high degree of stereochemical control and asymmetric induction. These chapters also describe chiral pool synthesis by means of carbohydrate precursors. This book also examines the methodologies in organic synthesis using reagents with boron, aluminum, transition metals, silicon, phosphorus, and sulfur. The remaining chapters are devoted to reactions involving radical initiated ring closure, small ring hydrogenolysis, annulene synthesis, vicarious nucleophilic substitution of aromatic hydrogen, and dichlorine monoxide mediated powerful chlorination. This book is of value to organic chemists and allied scientists.

In recent years the choice of a given solvent for performing a reaction has become increasingly important. More and more, selective reagents are used for chemical transformations and the choice of the solvent may be determining for reaching high reaction rates and high selectivities. The toxicity and recycling considerations have also greatly influenced the nature of the solvents used for industrial reactions. Thus, the development of reactions in water is not only important on the laboratory scale but also for industrial applications. The p- formance of metal-catalyzed reactions in water for example has led to several new hydrogenation or hydroformylation procedures with important industrial applications. The various aspects of organic chemistry in water will be prese- ed in this book. Recently, novel reaction media such as perfluorinated solvents or supercritical carbon dioxide has proven to have unique advantages leading to more practical and more efficient reactions. Especially with perfluorinated solvents, new biphasic catalyses and novel approaches to perform organic reactions have been developed. These aspects will be examined in detail in this volume. Finally, the performance of reactions in the absence of solvents will show practical alternatives for many reactions. More than ever before, the choice of the solvent or the solvent system is ess- tial for realizing many chemical transformations with the highest efficiency. This book tries to cover the more recent and important new solvents or solvent systems for both academic and industrial applications.

The view of organic synthesis as "a concentrated expression of predictive ability and creative capacity" was advocated in the early 1950s. A concise and readable account of the role of synthesis in modern science, Organic Synthesis: The Science Behind the Art presents the general ideology of pursuits in the area of organic synthesis, and examines the methodologies that have evolved in the search for solutions to synthetic problems. This unique book details outstanding achievements of modern organic synthesis, not only for their scientific merits, but also for the aesthetic appeal of the target molecules chosen and the intrinsic beauty of the solutions to the problems posed. By judicious selection of data covering the main areas of synthetic explorations, this book serves to illustrate both the evolution of well-known approaches as well as recently emerged trends most likely to determine the future development of organic synthesis. Special attention is given to the consideration of principles of molecular design in promising and challenging areas of current research. Primarily aimed at advanced undergraduate and graduate students, Organic Synthesis: The Science Behind the Art will also be of interest to teachers, researchers and anyone requiring an introduction to the problems of organic synthesis.

Among the topics of interest to organic chemists today are the versatility and uniqueness of electrolysis procedures in organic synthesis, as well as the latest advances in methodology, including basic concepts for the design of electrolysis conditions and apparatus. The International Symposium on Electroorganic Synthesis met in Kurashiki, Japan, in September 1997 for lectures on all aspects of current research in the field. This volume comprising the papers from the symposium consists of two parts. Part I, Electrooxidation, includes papers on alcohols and phenols, olefins and aromatics, halogenation, polymers, and electrodes, among others. Included in Part II, Electroreduction, are papers on carbonyl compounds, halogen-containing compounds, reaction with EG bases, and metal complexes. The novel trends presented here will be of special interest to researchers and graduate students in electroorganic chemistry and are a valuable resource for all organic chemists.

The Role of Metals and Ligands in Organic Hydroformylation, by Luca Gonsalvi, Antonella Guerriero, Eric Monflier, Frédéric Hapiot, Maurizio Peruzzini. Hydroformylation in Aqueous Biphasic Media Assisted by Molecular Receptors, by Frédéric Hapiot, Hervé Bricout, Sébastien Tilloy, Eric Monflier. Asymmetric Hydroformylation, by Bernabé F. Perandones, Cyril Godard, Carmen Claver. Domino Reactions Triggered by Hydroformylation, by Elena Petricci, Elena Cini. Rhodium-Catalyzed Hydroformylation in Fused Azapolycycles Synthesis, by Roberta Settambolo. Hydroformylation in Natural Product Synthesis, by Roderick W. Bates, Sivarajan Kasinathan.

The general plan of the book follows that of the second edition, but the opportunity has been taken to bring the book up to date and to take account of advances in knowledge and of new reactions which have come into use since publication of the earlier editions.