Timely and unique in its breadth of content this all-encompassing and authoritative reference
on ribozymes documents the great diversity of nucleic acid-based catalysis. It integrates the
knowledge gained over the past 35 years in the field and features contributions from virtually
every leading expert on the subject. 'Ribozymes' is organized into six major parts. It starts
by describing general principles and strategies of nucleic acid catalysis. It then introduces
naturally occurring ribozymes and includes the search for new catalytic motifs or novel genomic
locations of known motifs. Next it covers the development and design of engineered ribozymes
before moving on to DNAzymes as a close relative of ribozymes. The next part examines the use
of ribozymes for medicinal and environmental diagnostics as well as for therapeutic tools. It
finishes with a look at the tools and methods in ribozyme research including the techniques
and assays for structural and functional characterization of nucleic acid catalysts. The first
reference to tie together all aspects of the multi-faceted field of ribozymes * Features more
than 30 comprehensive chapters in two volumes * Covers the chemical principles of RNA catalysis
naturally occurring ribozymes engineered ribozymes DNAzymes ribozymes as tools in
diagnostics and therapy and tools and methods to study ribozymes * Includes first-hand
accounts of concepts techniques and applications by a team of top international experts from
leading academic institutions * Dedicates half of its content to methods and practical
applications ranging from bioanalytical tools to medical diagnostics to therapeutics Ribozymes
is an unmatched resource for all biochemists biotechnologists molecular biologists and
bioengineers interested in the topic.
