Clinical Toxicology of Commercial Products, 5th ed

The biggest disappointment was section 111, the therapeuin a logical manner which emphasizes the value of the tics index. “Treatment” sections are monolithic and not processes in the synthesis of complex target structures. The geared to developing symptoms; they pay scant and grudging authors also acquaint the reader with current mechanistic attention to some new procedures such as the use of Fab thinking within these areas. fragments in digoxin overdose. Laboratory parameters are Chapter 3 (K. A. Lutomski and A.I. Meyers) reviews asymmetric synthesis via chiral oxazolines. Chapter 4 (D. inadequate, and serum levels are played down to the exclusion of a standard nomogram for estimating salicylate toxiciEnders) deals with the alkylation of chiral hydrazones. In ty. There is no provision for the management of combination these chapters, two of the most successful synthetic methods products, such as decongestant-antihistamines, for which involving chiral auxiliaries are critically evaluated by their pharmacological antagonism can produce a confusing clinical inventors. picture. Chapters 5 and 6 (P. A. Bartlett) review olefin cyclization The next edition will be improved if section I1 and V are processes that form carbon-carbon and carbon-heteroatom expanded further and section I11 is completely revised. Secbonds, respectively. Both chapters clearly demonstrate the tion IV, on supportive care, has not been kept up to date and synthetic capabilities of these processes. Chapter 5 includes a should be deleted. Section I, on first aid, needs to be expandstimulating discussion of the vexing question of the mechaed. Where is the research literature on the advisability of nism of polyene cyclizations. emesis in hydrocarbons? When the route of exposure is the Chapter 7 (L. A. Paquette) deals with asymmetric cycloadeye or the skin, this should be discussed in more detail in dition reactions. Emphasis is naturally placed upon the Diels-Alder reaction, with shorter sections covering [2 + 21 both first aid and relevant treatments such as “lye.)) and [3 + 21 cycloadditions. Finally, chapter 8 (R. K. Hill) Certainly no hospital emergency room should be without the new CTCP, but the telephone numbers of regional poison provides a lucid description of chirality transfer via sigmacontrol centers will also be needed. We hope that the next tropic rearrangements. edition will list them. This book Dresents a remarkablv coherent account of a variety of su6ject areas of crucial cmportance in the asymLorna M. Goshman metric synthesis of organic molecules. The authors succeed in University of Wisconsin-Madison providing a treatise of lasting value in a rapidly expanding University Hospital and Clinics area. The book should do much to encourage further develop600 Highland Ave. ments within this fascinating area and to assist synthetic Madison, WI 53792 organic chemists in keeping pace with the ever-more-stringent demands of their art. John D. Elliott University of Newcastle upon Tyne NE17RU U.K.

Clinical Toxicology of Commercial Products, 5th ed. By R. E. Gosselin, R. P. Smith, and H. C. Hodge. Williams and Wilkins, 428 East Preston Street, Baltimore, MD 21202. 1984. 1987 + ix pp. 26 x 17.5 cm. ISBN 0-683-03632-7. $95.00. The long-awaited fifth edition of Clinical Toxicology of Commercial Products (CTCP) remains a volume that can be comfortably lifted from the bookshelf, thanks to a more compact print format. Its authors have included more information from research literature, particularly in section 11, the ingredients index, and section 111, the therapeutics index, to expand the scope of the volume and make it more useful as a reference for toxicologists as well as practicing physicians. For many hospital emergency rooms, the crucial question is how much of an information gap has to be spanned if a more expensive microfiche information system is not available. In the new CTCP, literature references do not go beyond 1982 and the most recent changes in product listings were made in 1983. Some reformulations prior to 1980 have not yet been updated in section V. The increased detail in sections 1I:B and 1I:D (toxicity information about selected ingredients) is extremely useful and pertinent; monographs are crisply written. Excellent capsules on drugs of abuse, such as phencyclidine and butyl nitrite (listed under amyl nitrite), are now available. Some data on occupational exposure are included. Section VI (general formulations) is rearranged, with pesticides in their own section followed immediately by an index of pesticide manufacturers.

Chromatography of Alkaloids, Part B: Gas-Liquid Chromatography and High-Performance Liquid ChromatograBy R. Verpoorte and A. Baerheim Svendsen. Elphy. sevier Science Publishing Co., New York, NY 10017. 1984. 457 pp. 16 x 24 cm. ISBN 0444-42265-X. $94.25. This is the companion book to Chromatography of Alkaloids, Part A: Thin-Layer Chromatography, which was published 2 years ago. In that volume, the subject material that constituted the chromatography of alkaloids was so vast that it was decided to publish volume 23 of the Journal of Chromatography Library in two parts. This book is divided into two major portions, gasliquid chromatography and high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), each of these being subdivided in turn into a “General Part” and a “Special Part.” The subject material which encompasses gasliquid chromatography consists of 22 chapters covering approximately 220 pages. The “General Part” of this subject is relatively short (3 chapters of 28 pages) and includes a discussion of packed columns (deactivation of solid support and stationary-phase coating onto solid support), capillary columns, and derivatization of alkaloids via different reactions with selected reagents. The “Special Part” consists of the gas-liquid chromatography of 13 different classes of alkaloids and includes numerous tables, figures, and references. The following classes of alkaloids are included: pyrrolizidine, pyridine, piperidine, quinolizidine, tropane, quinoline, phenylethylamine, isoquinoline, indole, steroidal, xanthine, imidazole, and Cephalotaxus. In the discussion of HPLC, the same format is followed to a great degree. The “General Part” of this section consists of 2 chapters of about 20 pages and focuses on a brief but highly descriptive discussion of HPLC via ion-exchange, reversedphase, ion-pair, and straight-phase techniques, including Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences / 1139 Vol. 74, No. 10, October 1985