RSC Books Blog

Soft matter is a fast developing area of research. To map these exciting changes, the first title in the new RSC Soft Matter Series was published this November. Functional Molecular Gels, edited by Beatriu Escuder and Juan Miravet, Universitat Jaume I in France, covers recent rapid developments in molecular gels, and highlights important discoveries from the exponentially growing body of literature in this field.

Functional Molecular Gels covers the design and characterisation of molecular gels, gels responsive to physical, chemical, and biological stimuli, and the biomedical, optic, electronic, and nanostructural applications of these gels.

The next title in the RSC Soft Matter Series will be published in 2014: Hydrogels in Cell-Based Therapies, edited by Che J. Connon and Series Editor Ian W. Hamley, University of Reading.

Working alongside Ian Hamley as Series Editors are Hans-Jürgen Butt, Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research, Germany; Howard Stone, Princeton University, US; and Chi Wu, The Chinese University of Hong Kong. All are prominent and active researchers in soft matter research, and bring a wealth of knowledge and experience to the Series Editorial Board.

This new Series makes an exciting complement to the Royal Society of Chemistry’s work in this area, which already includes the successful journal Soft Matter.

More titles of interest in this area include Smart Materials for Drug Delivery edited by Carmen Alvarez-Lorenzo and Angel Concheiro, Janus Particle Synthesis, Self-Assembly and Applications  edited by Shan Jiang and Steve Granick, and Polymeric and Self Assembled Hydrogels edited by Xian Jun Loh and Oren A. Scherman.

Emerging drugs and targets for Parkinsons disease

Now is an important time for medicinal chemistry. This week Professor Giovanna Mallucci’s team at the University of Leicester reported landmark findings for developing future treatments of neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer’s, Huntingdon’s and Parkinson’s. Research into these diseases is a crucial part of coping with aging populations. The Royal Society of Chemistry’s timely publication Emerging Drugs and Targets for Parkinson’s Disease edited by Ana Martinez and Carmen Gil, reviews state of the art treatments for Parkinson’s Disease and assesses promising future treatments.

Another Royal Society of Chemistry title published this summer is Supramolecular Systems in Biomedical Fields edited by Hans-Jörg Schneider. Supramolecular chemistry is an increasingly important field for drug delivery systems, as shown by Ran Lin and coworkers in a ChemComm article in April this year.

More new, topical titles recently published include Biotherapeutics edited by Lyn H Jones and Andrew J McKnight,  New Applications of NMR in Drug Discovery and Development edited by Leoncio Garrido and Nicolau Beckmann, and Chromatographic Methods in Metabolomics edited by Tuulia Hyotylainen and Susanne Wiedmer.

If you have an idea for a book or you would like to find out more about the RSC Drug Discovery, Issues in Toxicology or RSC Metallobiology Series please contact the medicinal chemistry Commissioning Editor, Cara Sutton.

Supramolecular systems in biomedical fields

Supramolecular chemistry is the study of molecular interactions beyond that of covalent bonds. This domain of chemistry is fundamental to the life sciences; how molecules engage in systems and larger scale organisation is key to understanding and developing molecular medicine amongst other important areas of the biosciences.

The latest title in the Royal Society of Chemistry’s Monographs in Supramolecular Chemistry Series is Supramolecular Systems in Biomedical Fields, edited by Hans-Jörg Schneider of the Universität des Saarlandes, Germany. This book covers a range of applications of current supramolecular chemistry, from the pharmaceutical uses of cyclodextrins to biomedical applications of molecular imprinted polymers.

Other titles in this area include Polymeric and self assembled hydrogels (2012) edited by Xian Jun Loh and Oren A. Scherman, Polymer-based nanostructures (2010) edited by Pavel Broz, and Calixarenes (2008) edited by C. David Gutsche.