This book presents the contributions from leading experts, with backgrounds in academia and industry, to an Ernst Schering Research Foundation Symposium held in April 2007. It illustrates current progress in organocatalysis in functional group interconversions, organocatalytic CC- and CX-bond formations with small molecules as well as peptide-based catalysts and genetically engineered enzymes and their applications in natural product and drug syntheses. It will be of interest to those who want a general overview of the topic, but also to those who want to learn more about the state of the art, current trends and perspectives in this highly dynamic field of research.

New Concepts for Organocatalysis

Asymmetric Organocatalysis on a Techical Scale: Current Status and Future Challenges
Chiral Organocatalysts for Enantioselective Photochemical Reactions
Nucleophilic Carbens as Organocatalysts
Organocatalysis by Hydrogen Bonding Networks
Biomimetic Organocatalytic C-C-bond Formations.-Organocatalytic Syntheses of Bioactive Natural Products
Recoverable, Soluble Polymer Supprted Organic Catalysts
Controlling the Selectivity and Stability of Proteins by New Strategies in Directed Evolution: The Case of Organocatalytic Enzymes
N-Heterocyclic Carbenes - Organocatalysts Displaying Diverse Modes of Action.