Many small molecules occur naturally as «messenger» chemicals which regulate the behaviour and functions of microbes, plants, insects and animals. Examples include hormones, pheromones, phytoalexins, and antifeedants. These biofunctional molecules are of great interest to researchers in helping develop our understanding of biological function and in the development of new drugs. However extracting them from nature can be prohibitively expensive, so there is great interest in devising methods of...
