A wide range of research projects center on this sub-discipline including synthesis, structural characterization and structure determination, the study of chemical reactivity, and the mechanisms of organic transformations and associated reactive intermediates and transition states, chiefly of biologically/biochemically active compounds of carbon. Groups here focus extensively on synthesis of nucleoside and nucleoside-like compounds, protein/enzyme binding agents and bio-mimetic complexes. There is also systematic study of reactions and reactive intermediates and the effects of structure on reactivity and mechanism, predominantly of electrophilic species such as epoxides, diazonium ions and carbocations. Additional areas of interest include the structure of, and factors affecting the distribution of, covalent adducts of nucleosides and polynucleotides.