The IUBO Antonio González. A History

The book is a review of the trajectory of what can be considered the first research group established in the Canary Islands, focused on the chemistry of natural products, founded in 1946 by González, and which in later decades would become one of the nine research institutes that the ULL currently has, the Institute of Bio-Organic Chemistry (IUBO), to which the name of its founder was later added as a tribute.

To develop this history, the author has chosen to review the main research projects and most relevant doctoral theses written over these six decades. Since these works focus particularly on the concept of secondary metabolites or natural products, the first two chapters of the book concentrate on explaining the basic aspects of these issues before reviewing the related research.

The third chapter, the longest, develops the history of the center itself, divided by decades to better understand the evolution it has undergone, and in which, according to the authors, the extraordinary activity developed in the 1980s stands out.

Even in more difficult periods, such as the 1990s, when the center saw its resources dwindle "due to the negligence of political power at both the regional and national levels," the institute has always managed to maintain an excellent and internationally renowned scientific output.

The book's epilogue focuses on the research areas in which IUBO is currently working, including anticancer and antimicrobial agents from natural sources, nuclear magnetic resonance techniques in the study of biological processes, genetic engineering, insecticides and repellents, and pharmacology, among others.