Chemical biology deals with the use and development of chemical tools to solve biological problems, and chemical ligation fits within this paradigm as a set of techniques used for creating long peptide or protein chains. The practices involved represent a powerful enhancement of traditional solid-phase peptide synthesis – allowing the chemical preparation of proteins, biomolecule synthesis, protein labeling or immobilization, and preparation of proteins with unnatural amino acids. These molecular tools are useful for understanding biological systems and preparing novel bio- and nanomaterials or synthetizing bioactive molecules.

Until recently restricted to use by specialized scientists, chemical ligation methods are now in widespread use across interdisciplinary research groups and to different scientific areas. There is a clear need for a single-source resource and reference about these techniques and that is where Chemical Ligation: Tools for Biomolecule Synthesis and Modification comes in.

Presenting a wide array of information on chemical ligation, this book guides readers between different chemical ligation methodologies and applications – from the basics to more recent and sophisticated applications. The chapters move from the fundamental to applied aspects, so that novice readers can follow the entire book and apply these reactions in the laboratory.

The authors reserve attention for synthetic aspects, so the book also serves as a valuable reference for experimental work. Additionally, a selection of outstanding applications – including protein therapeutic synthesis, drug discovery, and molecular imaging – provides an overview of chemical ligation's potential and get other scientists involved bringing new ideas and applications.