Engineering the Genetic Code: Expanding the Amino Acid Repertoire for the Design of Novel Proteins - Hardcover

"In his book, Nediljko Budisa covers this highly interdisciplinary field and allows people not directly involved in protein engineering to get acquainted and up-to-date with the most recent and exciting developments. The book, which is the first of its kind dedicated entirely to this area of research, provides a comprehensive overview of the field. The book comprises seven chapters and has a clear structure supported by a multitude of fine illustrations, thus making the book a good read for those interested in protein engineering. ... Moreover, an excellent update on protein translation in general is given, which is useful for students and newcomers in the field. (...) The book provides an excellent introduction for first-time readers to the field of genetic-code engineering and, as stated on the back of the book, this is 'essential reading to all molecular life scientists who want to stay ahead in their research'." ChemBioChem "The numerous examples illustrate the new prospects that are opened up by genetic code engineering. We can expect novel proteins with properties that cannot be foreseen in detail, when one considers that, even for polypeptides based on the 20 proteinogenic amino acids, the rules of folding are still not known." Angewandte Chemie International Edition

The ability to introduce non-canonical amino acids in vivo has greatly expanded the repertoire of accessible proteins for basic research and biotechnological application. Here, the different methods and strategies to incorporate new or modified amino acids are explained in detail, including a lot of practical advice for first time users of this powerful technique. Novel applications in protein biochemistry, genomics, biotechnology and biomedicine made possible by the expansion of the genetic code are discussed and numerous examples are given. It is an essential reading for all molecular life scientists who want to stay ahead in their research.