Foldamers: Structure,Properties, and ApplicationsEdited by Stefan Hecht and Ivan Huc.

Wiley-VCH, Weinheim 2007. xxii+434 pp. ,hardcover E 159.00.—ISBN 978-3-527-31563-5

As aptly stated inthe preface of Fol-damers, “the aimof this book is tocover the breadthof the rapidly de-veloping field offoldamer researchand to unite thedifferent aspectsand schools by il-lustrating the generality of underlyingconcepts.” Indeed, the collective authorsof Foldamers accomplish a significantportion of this task over the course of 13chapters that span synthetic oligomers,synthetic a-peptide sequences, artificialproteins, nucleic acids, and foldamers atinterfaces. Each chapter is written by re-spected scientists within the field, andthe editors have maintained an emphasison the factors that dominate the foldingprocesses of each system, including localrotational restrictions, interactions be-tween sites both adjacent and remote,solvent effects, assembly hybridization,and steric and electrostatic effects (orcombinations thereof).Based on these interactions, the book

could be divided into a discussion ofpredictable versus less-predictable fold-ing structures (with an emphasis on theformer). Much space is dedicated to fol-damer synthesis, structure, and the ki-netics of folding, whereas less effort isplaced on optical, electrical, and otherphysical properties. Approximately halfthe book is associated with biologicalapplications of foldamers, proteindesign, and the like. This is understanda-ble, given the inspiration that foldamer

chemists have had from the naturalworld. The coverage of biologically in-spired systems is exceptional, however,from the standpoint of materials science,there is a deficiency of the subject con-tent. The growing population of scien-tists who are exploring foldamers formolecular-, nano-, and even microscalematerials science applications may notfind sufficient information about thephysical properties of folded versus un-folded structures to make this a usefuladdition to their libraries. Along this line,there is only a short discussion of the ap-plications of theoretical models to:a) simulate the folding process, b) studythe balance of interactions required toassemble a structure into a stable form,and c) examine the physical propertiesof foldamers as a function of organiza-tion. Though admittedly such research isat the state-of-the-art in computing ca-pability (and the reviewer is biased inthis regard), there is a growing body ofrecent publications within this theme,and the use of theory could have beenmore broadly integrated into multiplechapters.The chapters cover the remaining

state of research to the present time andintegrate well with each other, oftenguiding the reader to complementarysections of the book that aid in effectivereading. Given the burgeoning foldamerliterature, the references are thoroughand will be valuable to graduate stu-dents or experienced researchers enter-ing this field. The index is sufficiently in-clusive to be helpful. One of my favoriteaspects of this book the “outlook”, whichnot only summarizes each chapter butalso highlights potential research areasin a way that captures the creativity andexcitement of the authors. It is also clearthat the authors put a great deal of timeinto the development of suitable figuresthat outline complex concepts, beautiful-ly illustrate the intricate interaction

mechanisms between subunits, andhighlight kinetic and thermodynamicdata associated with folding processes.In summary, Foldamers is a delightful

treatise on the subject area, providedthat the reader is bent towards the bio-logical realm (or are seeking to repro-duce it). It is quite appropriate for the li-brary of graduate students, junior scien-tists, or newcomers to the field. It wouldalso be a suitable supplementary text toa graduate-level special topics class; itcould also be integrated into a biochem-istry or polymers course. Such versatilityis hard to find, and the authors and edi-tors should be commended for theirhard work.

Aurora ClarkWashington State University (USA)

Structural Genomics onMembrane ProteinsEdited by Kenneth H. Lundstrom.

CRC Press, Boca Raton 2006. 400 pp. , hard-cover £ 97.00.—ISBN 978-1-57444-526-8

Membrane proteins are one of the lastfrontiers in structural biology. Althoughroughly one third of all genes code formembrane proteins and around 60% ofall drugs target membrane proteins, thediscrepancy between importance andknowledge is best visualized by lookingat the Protein Data Bank (PDB). The PDBcurrently holds 40000 three-dimensionalprotein structures, but fewer than 100have been determined for integral mem-brane proteins. With few exceptions,such as bacterial and bovine rhodopsinsor the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor,recombinant expression is required andis, in many cases, the first problem en-

Structurally Sound Information

ChemMedChem 2008, 3, 185 – 187 7 2008 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH&Co. KGaA, Weinheim www.chemmedchem.org 185

countered. Many researchers are evenconvinced that the expression and purifi-cation of membrane proteins in a func-tional state and in sufficient quantity isthe major bottleneck in the structuralbiology of membrane proteins.In this book, approaches toward over-

coming this barrier for membrane pro-teins are described from a structural ge-nomics point of view. In general, struc-tural genomics is an approach in whicha large number of targets are producedin parallel by means of high-throughputtechnologies and subjected to structuralstudies. Dealing with structural genomicsof membrane proteins in particular re-quires joint efforts in many areas ofmodern life sciences, which are coveredby this book. Therefore, the reader isprovided with detailed informationabout the overexpression of membraneproteins in bacterial, yeast, insect, andeukaryotic systems. Next, solubilization,purification, and crystallization strategiesare described. However, the book is notrestricted to X-ray crystallography.Rather, it provides a general overview ofstructural approaches suitable for mem-brane proteins, including electron micro-scopy of two-dimensional crystals,atomic force microscopy, and NMR.It is quite frequently observed that

overexpressed proteins do not adopttheir native fold. Rather, these proteinsare “deposited” within the cell in theform of inclusion bodies, which in princi-ple can be refolded into their nativethree-dimensional structure. Much efforthas been undertaken in the past torefold soluble proteins, but the refoldingof membrane proteins is a rather newstrategy toward the overproduction of agiven protein of interest; Structural Ge-nomics on Membrane Proteins also coversthis promising strategy. Of course, struc-tural genomics of membrane proteins re-quires parallelization and high-through-put technology. To satisfy this demand inthe field of membrane proteins, chaptershave also been included that cover pro-duction strategies, miniaturization, andan overview of structural genomic net-works specialized in membrane proteins.These provide the reader with an oppor-tunity to view the fascinating world ofmembrane proteins through the eyes ofa structural genomics researcher. Nota-

bly, three chapters are devoted to cur-rent approaches in bioinformatics, mo-lecular modeling of membrane proteins,and drug-discovery techniques for G-protein-coupled receptors. It is impor-tant to remember that it is not alwaysnecessary to remove membrane proteinsfrom their natural environment, the bio-logical membrane. Recent advances influorescence labeling of membrane pro-teins in living cells provide a newavenue to study the interactions ofmembrane proteins with other mole-cules within the cell and their spatialand temporal distribution and organiza-tion within the membrane.Research on membrane proteins is an

exciting field, and editor K. H. Lundstromhas organized material that covers themany aspects of this particular researcharea. This book provides insight into thevarious disciplines, approaches, prob-lems, and solutions in membrane proteinresearch. Clearly, it is a challenge tocover all aspects of this research area,but the editor and authors have ach-ieved a balance between detail and im-portance without losing the main focus.Many leading experts have provided anexcellent overview that is helpful for stu-dents and researchers who wish to famil-iarize themselves with this field. Alsoworth mentioning are the excellent tableof contents and keyword index, whichare very helpful in finding a given topicand its corresponding details. This bookis also recommended for experts inmembrane protein research or structuralgenomics because it not only providesan excellent overview, it also offers a de-tailed and balanced view on the dailychallenges in working with these fasci-nating proteins, especially from a struc-tural genomics perspective.

Lutz SchmittInstitute of BiochemistryHeinrich Heine UniversityDCsseldorf (Germany)DOI: 10.1002/cmdc.200700320

Structural Genomics and HighThroughput Structural BiologyEdited by Michael Sundstrçm,Martin Norin, and Aled Edwards.

CRC Press, Boca Raton 2005. 296 pp. , hard-cover $ 129.95.—ISBN 0-8427-5335-6

Modern drug discovery suffers from lowefficiency and high cost. One potentialway to address these questions isthrough genomics research. Structuralgenomics has increasingly provided newmeans for enhancing structure-baseddrug design approaches. Also, the strict-er demands on drug safety have pre-sented a strong case for improveddesign of drugs with fewer side effects.Here, structure-based drug discoverymight also play a significant role. In thissense, the new opportunities for drugdevelopment provided by structural ge-nomics and high-throughput structuralbiology have recently received much at-tention. It is therefore with great pleas-ure that I welcome this new book bySundstrçm, Norin, and Edwards.The editors have assembled an inter-

esting mixture of authors representingimportant scientists in the field of struc-tural biology from both academia andindustry. The composition of the chap-ters is also successful and gives thereader a nice overview of structural ge-nomics. Strong emphasis has been dedi-cated to the crystallization process andmethods. The modeling aspects havealso been described in detail with a spe-cial chapter dealing with the validationof structural information. I found most ofthe chapters very informative and highlyadequate for getting a picture of themethodology, also for scientists not di-rectly involved in crystallography andcomparative modeling. The layout of thebook is good. However, the size of thefigures is generally too small and manyof the structures suffer substantially fromthe black and white presentation.The overview on structural genomics

describes the field well and introducesthe key players, such as the major struc-tural genomics centers. The lessonslearnt from the pilot phase of structuralgenomics are also interestingly present-ed. The following two chapters deal withprotein purification and crystallization.

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