"This first-of-its-kind four-volume book series, Amino Acids: Insights and Roles in Heterocyclic Chemistry, provides readers with up-to-date information on alpha-amino acids, the potential challenges in working with alpha-amino acids, the protecting groups for the carboxyl, amino and side chain groups of the amino acids, and the most popular heterocyclic compounds that are originating from alpha-amino acids. These heterocyclic compounds include hydantoins, thiohydantoins (including 2-thiohydantoins, 4-thiohydantoins, 2,4-dithiohydantoins), 2,5-diketopiperazines, N-carboxyanhydrides, N-thiocarboxyanhydrides, sydnones, sydnonimines, azlactones, pseudoazlactones, and oxazolidin-5-ones. This is the first resource to comprehensively collect all the heterocycles that can be directly prepared from alpha-amino acids. In addition, almost all kinds of synthetic methods for a particular type of heterocycles from alpha-amino acids are include, along with the detailed mechanistic discussions and experimental procedures. In Volume 2: Hydantoins, Thiohydantoins, and 2,5-Diketopiperazines, the author has compiled the three IUPAC accepted nomenclature systems for heterocyclic compounds, which will be very useful for readers working in heterocyclic chemistry for giving synthesized molecules their correct names. In addition, three groups of heterocyclic compounds, i.e., hydantoins, thiohydantoins (including 2-thiohydantoin, 4-thiohydantoin and 2,4-dithiohydantoin), and 2,5-diketopiperazines, have been organized with updated literature information. Particularly, all three groups of heterocyclic compounds have demonstrated many important biological activities, particularly anticancer and antibacterial activities. On the other hand, these three groups of heterocycles can be applied as substrates to make other chemical derivatives, particularly novel unnatural amino acids. All their reactivities have been compiled and updated. These will be very valuable for the readers who have been working in this area or have interest in this area"--