While there are numerous books on heterocycles and natural products, this text fills the need for an up-to-date summary focusing on recently developed and improved synthetic methods for the preparation of the most important classes of lactones and lactams - all in one volume. Comprehensive in its coverage, this book also provides readers with a brief description of the occurrence and biological or pharmaceutical activity of the compounds, and each chapter deals with a certain class of lactones or lactames to enable quick access to the information needed. A valuable resource for organic chemists, biochemists and medicinal chemists in academia and industry wanting to learn about successful synthetic routes leading to important natural products and use this as inspiration for their own work in the lab.
About the Author
Tomasz Janecki was born in Lodz (Poland) and studied chemistry at the Lodz University of Technology. He obtained his doctorate in 1981 under the guidance of Ryszard Bodalski. After postdoctoral appointments at Strathclyde University (Peter Pauson) and the University of Texas at Austin (Josef Michl and Karl Folkers), he began an independent research career and completed his "Habilitation" at the Lodz University of Technology in 1996. Currently, he is a Full Professor of Organic Chemistry at the same university. His main research interest is the application of organophosphorus reagents in stereoselective synthesis of biologically important classes of organic compounds.
