Metabolic research and especially that which focuses on the monooxygenase cytochrome P450 system has gone through dramatic progressive changes within the last decade. Availability of highly sophisticated analytical techniques has contributed to increased molecular understanding of biotransformation pathways. Nowadays designer drugs are computer composable focussing on metabolic stability. The rapid development of recombinant enzymes has, in many cases, replaced the intensive work on P450 isolation from naturally occurring sources. Recombinant P450s can be expressed in cell lines and thus made available for reproducible and constant use addressig a large number of scientific questions. This book describes the present position of such research.

1 Xenobiotic Metabolism: From Intact Biosystem to Single Enzymes

2 Regulation of Xenobiotic-Metabolizing Cytochromes P450
3 Cytochrome P450 in Human Drug Metabolism: How Much Is Predictable?
4 Metabolic Activation of Anticancer Oxazaphosphorines by Cytochrome P450s: Development of a Model for Cancer Gene Therapy
5 The Use of Bacteria for Cytochrome P450 Expression
6 Expression of Cytochromes P450 in Yeast: Practical Aspects
7 Human Cells as an Expression System for Cytochromes P450
8 Metabolic Reactions and Recombinant Isoenzymes of Cytochrome P450: Information Generated and Value for Pharmaceutical Development
9 The Importance of Cytochrome P450 3A Enzymes in Drug Metabolism
10 Strategies for Verifying the Involvement of Specific Cytochrome P450 Enzymes in Xenobiotic Metabolism
11 Regulation of Cytochromes P450 by Substrate Interactions
12 Strategies for the Use of Single Cytochrome P450 Enzymes in Drug Research and Future Prospects.