Review
"This book provides an outstanding and comprehensive review of metabolic reactions catalyzed by hydrolytic enzymes…and their role in the biotransformation of xenobiotic substances." (
Journal of the American Chemical Society, December 22, 2004)
"For the first time, the metabolic reactions of hydrolysis…of drugs, prodrugs, and many other xenobiotics are tightly and comprehensively organized under a single cover.” (Pharmaceutical Research, June 2004)
"In summary, this book succeeds on many levels. At once it provides a clear and well-organized introduction to hydrolysis reactions in drug metabolism and drug design, a compendium of reaction mechanisms with extensive examples, and a comprehensive and eloquent treatise on the similarities, differences, and unifying principles of these reactions in metabolism.” (Journal of Medicinal Chemistry, 2004, Vol. 47, No. 10)
From the Back Cover
Xenobiotic metabolism is a subject of broad interdisciplinary, encompassing physiology, pathophysiology, pharmacology, toxicology, environmental issues, biochemistry, genetics, medical chemistry, computational (bio)chemistry, analytical chemistry, etc., and reactions of hydrolysis play a central role in metabolic pathways.
Benard Testa is very well-known for his capacity to conceptualize reactions of drug metabolism, and, in this volume, he presents a comprehensive review of all metabolic reactions and enzymes involved in the hydrolysis of drugs and prodrugs. Nothing of this sort has been written before, as hydrolysis together with some other reactions of drug metabolism have long been in the shadow of the drug-metabolism community’s preoccupation with the ‘P450 hype’ and the superfamily of
CYP genes coding for oxidative enzymes of drug metabolism. Recent developments, such as peptide drugs or inhibitors of cholinesterases, have lent new importance to these ‘other’ important enzymes of drug metabolism.
Bernard Testa’s fundamental knowledge of this field and his commitment to clear conceptualization and precise language make this book, sadly delayed by the untimely death of
Joachim Moyer, another important addition to his contributions that help us to understand the principles of xenobiotic biotransformation.
