Textbooks

There are numerous books that cover physical chemistry with a biological focus.  I will not attempt to provide an exhaustive list, but rather focus on the books I find most useful and the books used most by Prof. Jeff Yarger.

The primary textbook used in BCH 341 for Spring 2019 semester is:

• Atkins & De Paula, Physical Chemistry for the Life Sciences. 2nd Ed.

A secondary book used in BCH 341 is one written by a colleague at ASU, Prof. James P. Allen titled ‘Biophysical Chemistry’.  This books is FREE in PDF format for all ASU students and hardcopies are available from Amazon or related online bookstores.  A link to the ASU Library version for ASU Students is provided here:

• Prof. James P. Allen, ‘Biophysical Chemistry’
• Publically available Google Sheets (maintained by Angela Edwards) that tracks errors/typos/mistakes.

In past semesters, we have also used Tinoco’s textbook and this is the primary textbook used in the on-ground ASU BCH 341 class.

• I. Tinoco, K. Sauer, J. Wang, J. Puglisi, G. Harbison, D. Rovnyak, Physical Chemistry: Principles and Applications in Biological Sciences, 5th Ed., Pearson,. 2013. 

A list of other freely available books on this topic:

• W. Schartl, Basic Physical Chemistry: A Complete Introduction on Bachelor of Science Level.
• P. Monk, Physical Chemistry: Understanding Our Chemical World.
• L. Lue, Chemical Thermodynamics.
• P. Klappa, Kinetics for Bioscientist.
• G.C. Pimentel, R.D. Spratley, Understanding Chemical Thermodynamics.

Excellent Modern Textbooks recommended by Prof. Yarger on topics covered in BCH341:

• Phillips et al., Physical Biology of the Cell, 2nd Ed.
• Kuriyan, Konforti & Wemmer, The Molecules of Life: Physical & Chemical Principles.
  
• Klostermeier & Rudolph, BioPhysical Chemistry.

A list of Prof. Yarger’s favorite ‘Oldies but Goodies’, books on basic/general Physical Chemistry and books that focus on Thermodynamics (the primary physical chemistry topic covered in BCH341):

• Gilbert W. Castellan, Physical Chemistry: Castellan_Physical_Chemistry_3rd_ed.pdf 
• John S. Winn, Physical Chemistry (out of print)
• Berry, Rice, Ross, Physical Chemistry.
• H. Callen, Thermodynamics & an Introduction to Thermostatistics.
• Denbigh, The Principles of Chemical Equilibrium.
• Alberty, Thermodynamics of Biochemical Reactions.