ABSTRACT
Human proteins exhibit a wide range of functions in the human body, but the function of proteins that has held the most enduring attraction for chemists is catalysis-the acceleration of chemical reactions. Even the ancient Greeks marveled at the speed of enzyme action. As mentioned in The Iliad, stirring warm milk with a fig branch leads to rapid curdling of milk, a process that involves the catalytic action of the enzyme ficain (Figure 6.1). Chemists once envied the rate accelerations afforded by enzymes, but it is now commonplace for chemists to design transition-metal catalysts with equally amazing rate accelerations. In fact, the speed and efficiency of many transition-metal-catalyzed reactions-such as hydrogenation, olefin metathesis, and olefin polymerization-cannot be matched by any enzyme.
