Product Description

Revised and updated to provide a more general coverage, this third edition of the text is a guide to the study of structure, activity and mechanism in the field of protein science.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #290193 in Books
• Published on: 1999-02-15
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 650 pages

Customer Reviews

A concise and readable book ideal for Graduates
Fersht’s ‘Structure and Mechanism in Protein Science’ covers the broad spectrum of Protein Chemistry chiefly from the view of a Biophysicist. That is to say, it only briefly describes proteins in a manner easily understood to a newcomer to peptides – Branden and Tooze’s ‘Introduction to Protein Structure’ should really be a first port of call if this area of Biochemistry is unfamiliar to the reader. The real strength of the textbook is in the clarity of explanation of enzyme catalysis – a very multifaceted subject – from a physical viewpoint. The construction of arguments from simply explained principles is a common theme throughout these many chapters on catalysis and the terminology will be recognisable for anyone with a basic grounding in Physical Organic Chemistry. Those acquainted with the style of Sykes ‘Guidebook to Mechanism in Organic Chemistry’ will be in familiar territory here.

‘Structure’ contains many examples of enzymatic function to describe the various processes involved in enzyme specificity and mechanism that the reader will find useful without being overwhelming, unlike so many other Biochemistry textbooks. It appears that Fersht has selected his examples to explain a point rather than to be a comprehensive overview of catalysis. In addition, there are very useful accounts for the researcher in how to obtain such information by the way of applying the model or equations given to a real-life system.

In addition to the enzymatic structure and function that constitutes the bulk of the book, there is a concise account of Protein Engineering for both enzyme function study and protein stability itself. Fersht traverses the field from the fundamentals to current theory on folding pathways, illuminating the key concepts and experimental methods on the way. The textbook concludes many of the chapters with several case studies illustrating the methods used and information gleaned by real research and this section is particularly good on folding pathways for proteins. However, it is perhaps too brief for a researcher in protein folding and Roger Pain’s ‘Mechanisms of Protein Folding’ is a more comprehensive source for the graduate of lecturer.

In conclusion, this is a comprehensive account of enzyme structure and mechanism from a physical ‘first-principles’ point of view. It is not a book recommended for a reader seeking a brief introduction, nor for a graduate seeking a deeper insight into protein folding than basic methods for analysis. That said, it is the only textbook that combines these related disciplines in a clear manner. It is easy to read, if a little curt in parts, but it is difficult not to be impressed by the sound and detailed account of enzymes from a mechanistic background.