This lively, highly illustrated text provides undergraduate and postgraduate students with an accessible introduction to medicinal chemistry. It covers basic principles and background, and then describes the general tactics and strategies involved in developing an effective drug. Through the use of numerous examples it highlights both the difficulties faced by the medicinal chemist and the great potential of rational drug design. The second edition has five new chapters and is updated to include recent advances in the field. Updated throughout with the latest descoveries Five new chapters covering * the molecular structure of receptors and the mechanisms of signal transduction *combinatorial synthesis * the role of computers in drug design * adrenergics * drug discovery and drug development