（PREFACE) Chiral molecules are ubiquitous in nature and have ever-increasing importance in the pharmaceutical industry.Actions taken by regulatory bodies throughout the world have resulted in drug companies focusing efforts on the development of single enamtiomer products.ln recent years,several valuable texts have been published that cover in detail the various sources and methods of preparation for obtaining optically active materials. There has been a need, however,for a guide for workers in the pharmaceutical industry seeking information on commircially available chiral drugs and the processes for synthesizing them.The goal of this book is to present the chemical professional with a comprehensive listing of available chiral durgs including specific data of interest for each entry in the listing.This book is intended to complement the companion volume, Chiral lntermidiates. Part l of the book,divided into four chapters,provides an introduction to topics relevant to the field of chiral chemistry and includes a brief overview of chirality,a short discussion on the current market drivers in the area of chiral chemistry,and a basic presentation of hte varous sources and methods for obtaining chiral compounds. This book will provide an introduction to the types of sources and methods currently in use for obtaining chiral molecules and will prove to be an invaluable resource for information on available chiral drugs. The reader is encouraged to investigate other sources for more detailed information on the technology and processes utilzed for identifying,isolating,and preparing chiral pharmaceuticals and their corresponding intermediates. （简介）本书原著由英国Ashgate Publishing Ltd.出版，与《手性中间体手册》为姊妹篇，是极为全面和详尽的手性化合物手册。该书由两个部分组成。第1部分包括4章，分别对手性化合物相关的主题进行了论述，包括简要回顾了手性的概念及其发展，讨论了手性化合物领域目前市场的主流以及手性化合物的各种来源和获得的方法。第2部分介绍了超过2500个手性药物。每个化合物条目下包括化学名、商品名列表、同系物；CAS注册号、EINESC号、默克索引（第12版）号；物理性质（包括特征旋光）、主要应用；化学结构；生产和供应厂商。同时本书还提供了功能强大的索引，包括CAS注册号索引、EINESC号索引、名称和同系物索引以及生产和供应厂商名录。