IntechOpen Book Series Biochemistry

Volume 34

### Aims and Scope of the Series

Biochemistry, the study of chemical transformations occurring within living organisms, impacts all of the life sciences, from molecular crystallography and genetics, to ecology, medicine and population biology. Biochemistry studies macromolecules - proteins, nucleic acids, carbohydrates and lipids –their building blocks, structures, functions and interactions. Much of biochemistry is devoted to enzymes, proteins that catalyze chemical reactions, enzyme structures, mechanisms of action and their roles within cells. Biochemistry also studies small signaling molecules, coenzymes, inhibitors, vitamins and hormones, which play roles in the life process. Biochemical experimentation, besides coopting the methods of classical chemistry, e.g., chromatography, adopted new techniques, e.g., X-ray diffraction, electron microscopy, NMR, radioisotopes, and developed sophisticated microbial genetic tools, e.g., auxotroph mutants and their revertants, fermentation, etc. More recently, biochemistry embraced the 'big data' omics systems. Initial biochemical studies have been exclusively analytic: dissecting, purifying and examining individual components of a biological system; in exemplary words of Efraim Racker, (1913 –1991) "Don't waste clean thinking on dirty enzymes." Today, however, biochemistry is becoming more agglomerative and comprehensive, setting out to integrate and describe fully a particular biological system. The 'big data' metabolomics can define the complement of small molecules, e.g., in a soil or biofilm sample; proteomics can distinguish all the proteins comprising e.g., serum; metagenomics can identify all the genes in a complex environment e.g., the bovine rumen.

This Biochemistry Series will address both the current research on biomolecules, and the emerging trends with great promise.

## Meet the Series Editor

Miroslav Blumenberg, Ph.D., was born in Subotica and received his BSc in Belgrade, Yugoslavia. He completed his Ph.D. at MIT in Organic Chemistry; he followed up his Ph.D. with two postdoctoral study periods at Stanford University. Since 1983, he has been a faculty member of the RO Perelman Department of Dermatology, NYU School of Medicine, where he is codirector of a training grant in cutaneous biology. Dr. Blumenberg's research is focused

on the epidermis, expression of keratin genes, transcription profiling, keratinocyte differentiation, inflammatory diseases and cancers, and most recently the effects of the microbiome on the skin. He has published more than 100 peer-reviewed research articles and graduated numerous Ph.D. and postdoctoral students.

## Meet the Volume Editors

Dr. Pravin Kendrekar, MSc, MBA, Ph.D., is currently a visiting scientist at the Lipid Nanostructure Laboratory, University of Central Lancashire, England. He previously worked as a post-doctoral fellow at the Ben-Gurion University of Negev, Israel; University of the Free State, South Africa; and Central University of Technology Bloemfontein, South Africa. He obtained his Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry from Nagaoka University of Technology, Japan. He

has published more than seventy-four journal articles and attended several national and international conferences as speaker and chair. Dr. Kendrekar has received many international awards. He has several funded projects, namely, anti-malaria drug development, MRSA, and SARS-CoV-2 activity of curcumin and its formulations. He has filed four patents in collaboration with the University of Central Lancashire and Mayo Clinic Infectious Diseases. His present research includes organic synthesis, drug discovery and development, biochemistry, nanoscience, and nanotechnology.

Dr. Vinayak Adimule, MSc, Ph.D., is a professor and dean of R&D, Angadi Institute of Technology and Management, India. He has 15 years of research experience as a senior research scientist and associate research scientist in R&D organizations. He has published more than fifty research articles as well as several book chapters. He has two Indian patents and two international patents to his credit. Dr. Adimule has attended, chaired, and presented papers

at national and international conferences. He is a guest editor for *Topics in Catalysis* and other journals. He is also an editorial board member, life member, and associate member for many international societies and research institutions. His research interests include nanoelectronics, material chemistry, artificial intelligence, sensors and actuators, bio-nanomaterials, and medicinal chemistry.

### Contents

