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The 1st Euchem Symposium on the Chemical Synthesis of Antibiotics was held in Aussois in Savoie, France on May 2-6, 1988 thanks to the efforts of Prof. G. Lukacs, chairperson, and Prof. F. Arcamone and Prof. P. Welzel, vice-chairpersons of the International Organizing Committee. Following the great success of the Ist Symposium, the 2nd Symposium, which was chaired by Prof. Ohno, was held in Oiso, Japan in 1990. The 3rd Symposium, chaired by Prof. K. Krohn, was held in Kloster Banz, Germany in 1992. It has been decided that the 4th Symposium will take place in the United States in 1994 and be chaired by Dr. H. A. Kirst of Lilly Research Laboratories. The Euchem Symposium has come to serve as an important symposium where one can understand the development and the future directions of the chemical synthesis of antibiotics and other bioactive metabolites from microorganisms. Prof. G. Lukacs, in cooperation with Prof. M. Ohno, edited the book "Recent Progress in the Chemical Synthesis of Antibiotics" three years ago. Most of its contributors were the participants of the Aussois Symposium. This book attracted the attention of researchers specializing in organic synthesis and stimulated considerable progress in this field.

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Cyclization Methods Related to the Synthesis of Macrolide Antibiotics.- Progress in the Total Synthesis of Spirotetronic Acid Macrolide Antibiotics.- Convergent Stereospecific Total Synthesis of Monocillin I and Monorden (or Radicicol).- Recent Progress in the Chemical Modification of Erythromycin.- Chemistry of FK - 506.- The "Enediyne" Antibiotics Calicheamicin ?1I, Esperamicin-Ar and Dynemicin-A: Physicochemical and Biological Properties-Partial and Total Synthesis.- Synthesis and Chemistry of Neocarzinostatin Analogs.- Synthesis of Nogalamycin and Related Substances.- Total Synthesis of Aryl C-Glycoside Antibiotics.- Total Synthesis of the Antifungal Antibiotic Ambruticin.- Synthetic Approaches to Methylenomycin B and Analogs.- The Orthosomycin Antibiotics.- ? -Unsubstituted ? -Lactams as Synthons for Antibiotics.- Chemistry and Synthesis of some Novel ? -Lactam Antibiotics and ? -Lactamase Inhibitors.- Recent Advances in the Chemistry and Biochemistry of ? -Lactams as ? -Lactamase Inhibitors.- Chemistry of Biologically Important Hydroxylated Indolizidines Synthesis of Swainsonine, Castanospermine and Slaframine.- The Chemistry and Total Synthesis of Mevinolin and Related Compounds.- Synthetic Efforts Towards Cerulenin and Tetrahydrocerulenin.

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The book is a valuable source of information on synthetic strategies for chemical compounds exhibiting antibiotic acitvity. Twenty leading international research groups from academic and industrial laboratories have contributed. The book is of particular interest to the Pharmaceutical industry and to academic Organic Chemistry departments.

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