Foreword
Contemporary science transcends the boundaries of traditional disciplines. Chemistry is an enabling and fundamental part of advances in physics, biology, material
science and medicine to name but a few. One class of chemical compounds that is
present in all living systems are so-called amides. Even though their importance is
evident, they have often been overlooked as reactants in synthetic chemistry. Indeed, the remarkable stability of amides, a hallmark of their ubiquitous presence
in biology, is reflected in their reluctance to engage with common reagents. Strikingly, a novel paradigm termed „electrophilic activation“ allows one to make a
“U-Turn” in reactivity – moving amides from a plateau of near-inertness to becoming one of the most reactive organic functional groups. The author of this book
joined our venture in exploring this „amide activation“ and developed, together
with our team, a technique to synthesise a range of derivatives compounds including -amino amides, a specific class of amides common in proteins. Clearly, the
results presented here are likely to inspire not only other scholars in the field but
especially practitioners of fields beyond chemistry.
Univ.-Prof. Dr. Nuno Maulide