Plenary lectures presented at the 16th International Conference
on Physical Organic Chemistry (ICPOC-16): Structure and Mechanism
in Organic Chemistry, San Diego, California, USA, 4-9 August 2002
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For more than 30 years, IUPAC has sponsored a biennial international
conference on physical organic chemistry. In August 2002, it was held
on the campus of the University of California at San Diego, La Jolla,
California, USA. Participants came from a total of 30 different countries.
Besides the 12 plenary lectures, there were 22 additional invited lectures,
93 contributed lectures, and 128 posters. A sampling of the plenary
lectures is included in this volume. The entire list of presentations
is still accessible at
<http://chem-faculty.ucsd.edu/perrin/icpoc/scientificprogram.html>.
The topics presented at the five-day meeting illustrate the diversity
of modern research in structural and mechanistic chemistry, with particular
emphasis on understanding chemical reactivity, inter molecular recognition,
supramolecular chemistry, biological systems, and materials. The objectives
for the meeting were drawn from both the International Advisory Committee
and a Symposium in Print [T.T. Tidwell, Z. Rappoport, C.L. Perrin (Eds.),
“Physical organic chemistry for the 21st century ”, Pure
Appl. Chem. 69,
217-292 (1997)], which had been organized by IUPAC Commission III.2.
One key topic of presentations was nanotechnology,including lectures
on photochemically activated molecular-level devices (Vincenzo Balzani,
Bologna, Italy), dynamics of contractile catenanes and rotaxanes (Jean-Pierre
Sauvage, Strasbourg, France), synthesis and operation of a molecular
motor (Ben Feringa, Groningen, Netherlands), millimeter-scale self-assembly
and potential applications (George Whitesides, Harvard), and polymeric
nanoparticles (Craig Hawker, IBM, CA). Another key topic was the analysis
of the relation between structure and biochemical function, including
lectures on hydrogen tunneling in enzyme-catalyzed reactions (Judith
Klinman, University of California, Berkeley), kinetics of self-replicating
systems and self assembly of nanoobjects based on nucleic acids (Gunther
v. Kiedrowski, Bochum, Germany), genetic selection as a tool for mechanistic
enzymology (Donald Hilvert, ETH, Zürich, Switzerland), chemical
methods for modulating cell-surface architecture (Carolyn Bertozzi,
University of California, Berkeley), ribozyme activity (Kazunari Taira,
Tokyo, Japan), and the thermodynamics of some reactions of NO and NADH
(Jin-Pei Cheng, Nankai, China). Other presentations dealt with gas-phase
and solution reactivity and structure, including catalysis of electron
transfer processes (Shunichi Fukuzumi, Osaka, Japan), low coordination
silicon compounds (Yitzhak Apeloig, Haifa, Israel), salt effects on
conformations of heterocycles (Eusebio Juaristi, Mexico), mass spectrometric
detection of organometallic intermediates in new catalytic processes
(Peter Chen, ETH, Zürich, Switzerland),and synthesis of novel cyclopropane
derivatives (Armin de Meijere, Göttingen, Germany). Computational
modeling was applied to many topics, including reaction dynamics (Barry
Carpenter, Cornell, NY) and radical intermediates (Hendrik Zipse, Münich,
Germany). Other papers presented novel instrumental techniques such
as atomic-force microscopy, which was applied to single-molecule studies
of protein unfolding (Jane Clarke, Cambridge, UK) and to carbohydrate-binding
interactions (Soledad Penadés, Seville, Spain).
Additional topics frequent among the lectures and posters were mechanisms
of reactions, reactive intermediates, linear free-energy relationships,
molecular recognition, hydrogen bonding, catalysis, organometallics,
photochemistry, solvation, stereochemistry, and micelles. Moreover,
a wide range of instrumental methods was utilized, which demonstrates
the versatility of physical organic chemists today. Physical organic
chemistry has progressed greatly from its origins in a narrow area of
kinetics and mechanisms of reactions in solution. As one of the early
examples of the success of an interdisciplinary approach, it continues
to break down the barriers between the various fields of chemistry,
and it has created an intellectual framework for much of current chemistry.
We look forward to ICPOC-17, to be held in Shanghai, China, in summer
2004.
Charles
L. Perrin
Conference Editor
International Advisory Committee:
J.L. Abboud (Spain); P. Ahlberg (Sweden); W.T. Borden (USA); R. Breslow
(USA); F. Diederich (Switzerland); D.A. Dougherty (USA); M.A. Fox (USA);
E. Humeres (Brazil); G.-Z. Ji (China); E. Juaristi (Mexico); S.S. Kim
(Korea); M. Lahav (Israel); J. Lambert (USA); V.I. Minkin (Russia);
E. Nakamura (Japan); N.S. Nudelman (Argentina); L. Radom (Australia);
D.N. Reinhoudt (Netherlands); J.K.M. Sanders (UK); H. Schwarz (Germany);
P.J. Stang (USA); T.T. Tidwell (Canada).
Local Organizing Committee:
Marjorie Caserio (UCSD); Tammy Dwyer (USD); Nathaniel Finney (UCSD);
Reza Ghadiri (TSRI); Murray Goodman (UCSD); Joseph M.O ’Connor
(UCSD); Charles L. Perrin (UCSD); Julius Rebek, Jr. (TSRI); Ignacio
Rivero (ITTj); Jay S. Siegel (UCSD); Yitzhak Tor (UCSD); Patricia S.
Traylor (USD).
