Steroid dimers are an important group of compounds produced by various marine organisms, and also synthesized in the laboratories. This group of compounds possesses various pharmacological and biological properties, and can also be used to create  “molecular umbrellas” for drug delivery.

Steroid Dimers: Chemistry and Applications in Drug Design and Delivery provides an up-to-date overview on the chemistry and applications of steroid dimers of natural and synthetic origins. The book includes easy-to-follow synthetic protocols for various classes of important dimeric steroids, source details, valuable spectroscopic data and depiction of unique structural features of natural steroidal dimers, and the Structure-Activity-Relationships (SARs) of some pharmacologically active dimeric steroids. Topics covered include:

• introduction to steroid dimers
• synthesis and chemistry of noncyclic and cyclic steroid dimers
• naturally occurring steroid dimers – cephalostatins, ritterazines and crellastatins
• biological and pharmacological functions of steroid dimers and their application in drug design and discovery
• steroid dimers as “molecular umbrellas” for drug delivery

Steroid Dimers: Chemistry and Applications in Drug Design and Delivery is an essential guide to this important class of natural and synthetic compounds for researchers and students of natural products chemistry and biochemistry, synthetic organic and  medicinal chemistry, and drug design, discovery and delivery.Content:
Chapter 1 Introduction (pages 1–6):
Chapter 2 Synthesis of Acyclic Steroid Dimers (pages 7–186):
Chapter 3 Synthesis of Cyclic Steroid Dimers (pages 187–240):
Chapter 4 Naturally Occurring Steroid Dimers (pages 241–286):
Chapter 5 Synthesis of Cephalostatin and Ritterazine Analogues (pages 287–377):
Chapter 6 Applications of Steroid Dimers (pages 379–407):