Preface
Authors: Şener Bilge 
Published: March 2014

It was a great honor and personal privilege for us to organize the 9th Eurasia Conference on Chemical Sciences (EuAs C2S-9) in Antalya, Turkey, 9-13 September 2006. The choice of Turkey as a venue was especially appropriate in view of its special location and character as a bridge between Europe and Asia. Turkey's rich history and diversified cultural heritage provided an extra dimension to the atmosphere of the conference. The aim of the Eurasia Conferences is to support the scientific research of chemists in the Eurasia continent by inviting the participation of leading scientists from around the world. The Eurasia region has increased its profile in chemistry, particularly in chemical biology, over the last 20 years.

The growing role of chemistry and the contributions of the chemical and pharmaceutical industries to science are significant. The next century will witness more momentous achievements in chemistry as well as its application in different fields for the benefit of mankind in terms of healthy, productive, long, and comfortable life.

We particularly thank the participants who contributed scientific studies as oral and poster presentations at this conference. With the participation of the world's leading scientists from 39 countries, the conference was a good opportunity for all researchers to access recent information on achievements in the chemical sciences as well as to share and exchange their experiences during the conference.

The scientific program consisted of 10 plenary lectures, 35 invited lectures, 12 session lectures, 24 oral presentations, and 128 poster presentations. The topics covered included biodiversity and natural product chemistry, biomolecular chemistry, catalysis and nanotechnology, computational chemistry, coordination chemistry (organized as a mini-symposium through the efforts of Prof. Dr. Susumu Kitagawa), environmental and analytical chemistry, and materials science and solution chemistry.

The IUPAC-sponsored conference was attended by 268 participants from 39 countries. The participation of a large group of active young Turkish chemists was made possible by the financial support of the TUBITAK. In addition, a half-day excursion was organized for participants to Aspendos, Perge, and Side.

The lecturers included: Prof. Dr. Robert Huber, Nobel laureate, from Germany and keynote speaker; HRH Princess Prof. Dr. Chulabhorn Mahidol from Thailand; Prof. Dr. U. K. Pandit; Prof. Dr. B. M. Rode; Prof. Dr. T. Norin; Prof. Dr. M. Isobe; Prof. Dr. S. Kitagawa; and Prof. Dr. H. Ohtaki.

Six plenary lectures are published in this issue of Pure and Applied Chemistry along with the manuscripts from the project "Chemistry for Biology". The conference proceedings are being published by Springer-Verlag as Innovations in Chemical Biology.

The news of the sudden and untimely death of Prof. Dr. Hitoshi Ohtaki on 5 November 2006 was received after the conference. He enthusiastically promoted international cooperation and took it upon himself to publicize Japanese science to the wider world. His plenary lecture will serve as a memorable contribution to that goal. He also prepared a separate chapter, including tributes, in the proceedings. Prof. Dr. Ohtaki will be missed by all of us.

The next Eurasia conference, the 10th Eurasia Conference on Chemical Sciences (EuAs C2S-10), will be held in Manila, Philippines in 2008.

Prof. Dr. Bilge Sener

Chair, National Organizing Committee