化學生物學：化學領域內新興的一門學問      （方俊民教授整理94.12.）

I. Chemistry Plays a Key Role in the Science Division of Chemical Biology

  With regard to “Chemical biology”, a general question frequently asked is like this: whether “chemistry” or “biology” is the main body of this division? To answer this question, let’s take the more familiar terms of “microbiology” and “cell biology” as examples. You may agree that when one talks about microbiology, he/she actually emphasizes on microbes, but not animals or plants. The same understanding goes with cell biology, which focus on the study of cells. Apparently, Chemistry is the main theme for the science division of Chemical biology. We may coin “Chemical Biology: the chemistry of life science, bringing chemistry to life” from an internationally renowned Nature Chemical Biology journal.  
 

II. The Editors of Nature Chemical Biology and Current Opinion in Chemical Biology are Chemists

  There is no surprise that Professor Terry L. Sheppard, who has a strong chemistry background, serves as the Editor of Nature Chemical Biology journal. Professors Donald Hilvert and Steven V. Ley, who are chemistry professors at ETH (Federal Institute of Technology, Zurich, Switzerland) and University of Cambridge (UK), respectively, serve as the Editors of another internationally renowned journal of Current Opinion in Chemical Biology. 
 

III. Aims and Scope of Chemical Biology

  Nature Chemical Biology is a monthly multidisciplinary journal providing an international forum for the timely publication of significant new research at the interface between chemistry and biology. Topics covered by Nature Chemical Biology will include:

1. Chemical Synthesis

  Diversity-oriented synthesis; Template-directed synthesis; Biomolecular modification and labelling chemistry; Solid-phase biomolecular synthesis: peptides, oligonucleotides, oligosaccharides; Synthesis of small biomolecules: lipids, carbohydrates, nucleosides, amino acids; Combinatorial chemistry; Natural products synthesis; Biomimetic synthesis; Asymmetric catalysis.

2. Expanding Chemistry through Biology

  Enzymatic synthesis; Natural products isolation and characterization; Combinatorial biosynthesis; Biosynthetic engineering; Virus-based chemistry; Directed evolution and characterization of macromolecular catalysts and receptors; Chemical informatics.

3. Chemical Mechanisms in Biology

  Enzyme inhibition and reaction mechanisms; Mechanisms of drug action in vivo; Small molecule-biological target interactions; Evolution and novel chemistry of catalytic nucleic acids; Pharmacological determination of protein function in vivo; Molecular probes of biological function; Mechanistic analyses of post-translational modification chemistry; Chemical insights into post-genomic approaches, including RNA interference and proteomics; Metal ions in biological systems; Chemical imaging agents; Single molecule chemistry of small molecules and biomolecules; Theoretical simulations and modelling of biomolecules; Molecular recognition; Small molecular model systems for metalloenzymes; Molecular machines; Pharmacologically active natural products; Biosynthetic pathway elucidation; Chemical approaches to protein interaction networks; Chemical ecology.

4. Expanding Biology through Chemistry

  Chemical genetics and High Throughput Screening; Biomolecular and small molecular array fabrication and validation; Chemical insights into drug design and development; Synthetic biology; Unnatural biomolecular analogs in biological systems; Chemical genomics; Chemical regulation of biosynthetic pathways; Chemical methods for protein, carbohydrate and nucleic acid design; Chemical approaches to systems biology. 
 

IV. Chemists Contribute Significantly in the Chemical Biology Journals

  Taking two current issues of Nature Chemical Biology as the examples. The November issue (Nature Chemical Biology, 2005, Volume 1, Number 6, pp299-347) focuses on high yield of natural products. The December issue (Nature Chemical Biology, 2005, Volume 1, Number 7, pp349-397) demonstrates the utility of small molecules for modulating biological processes and offering leads for therapeutic applications. Chemists contribute soly or in parts to all six articles in this issue. It is noted that the first review article on “Chemistry in living systems” (Nature Chemical Biology, June 2005, Volume 1, Number 1, pp13-21) is contributed by Carolyn R Bertozzi in the Department of Chemistry, University of California, Berkeley. 
 

V. Chemists Provide Various Instrumental Methods to Advance the Research of Chemical Biology

  Taking the recent issue of Current Opinion in Chemical Biology (October 2005, Volume 9, Issue 5, pp421-544) as an example, one can easily recognize from the article titles the important contributions of chemists.

1. Contemporary mass spectrometry for the direct detection of enzyme intermediates.

2. Surface enhanced Raman scattering for narcotic detection and applications to Chemical biology