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Mass spectrometry in the biological sciences
502
Book reviews/ Talanta 44 (1997) 501 503
rials with analogous microstructural complexities, and to keep up with experimental and theoretical advances occurring in disciplines other than their own. The first two volumes were Statistical Physics of Macromolecules and, Biomimetics: Design and Processing of Materials. The large multi-authored text is divided into 10 parts and contains 52 chapters. Properties emphasised are those that are most relevant to physical chemistry and chemical physics, so that the more synthetic-organic topics such as the polymerization process and the chemical modification of polymers are not included. The first part of the book concentrates on Structure and is followed by a Theory section containing topics such as scaling and fractal dimension, computational parameters and rotational isomeric state models. Part 3, the largest in the book, deals with Thermodynamic properties such as heat capacities, thermal conductivities, glass temperatures, solubility parameters and many others. The small (29 pages) Spectroscopy section contains information on NMR, IR and, Neutron and X-ray scattering. Part 5 covers Mechanical Properties such as impact behaviour and viscoelasticity and includes chapters on adhesives and gels. Part 6 deals with Crystallinity and morphology and contains, for example, chapters on densities, unit cell information and crystallization kinetics. The 6 chapters of Part 7 concentrate on Electro-Optical and Magnetic Properties such as electrical conductivity, electroluminescence and the refractive index. Part 8 contains details of Responses to Radiation, Heat and Chemical Agents such as flammability, degradation and pyrolysability. The chapter on synthetic biodegradable polymers for medical applications is an overview of general interest, with many useful references for further reading. Part 9 of the book deals with surface and interfacial properties, acoustic properties and permeability of polymers to gases and vapors. Finally, part 10 lists a number of definitions, units and conversion factors. The many figures, tables and equations are of high quality, numerous references are included and the extensive indexing enables information to be located easily. Overall, this handbook succeeds in collating useful information on polymer prop-
erties and deserves a place in science libraries as well as in the numerous laboratories involved with polymer activities.
P.J. Cox
Practical Surface Analysis, Volume 2--1on and Neutral Spectroscopy, edited by D. Briggs and M.P. Seah, Second edition, Wiley, Chichester, 1992, xvi + 738 pp., £50.00. ISBN 0-471-96498-0. My favourable opinion of the hard-back version of this book, reviewed in Talanta, 1993, 40, 1995, remains unchanged even though the book is no longer up-to-date. The paper-back version will be welcomed by under- and post-graduate students because it is a relatively cheap, highly valuable book. Research supervisors will also welcome this version, for their highly-prized, hardback version need no longer be 'borrowed' by their students.
J.B. Craig
Mass Spectrometry in the Biological Sciences, edited by A.L. Burlingame and S.A. Carr, Humana, Totowa, New Jersey, 1996, xii + 570 pp., $145.00. ISBN 0-89603-340-6. This book contains 26 chapters written by leading practitioners in 'biological mass spectrometry' and is based on the 3rd International Symposium for Mass Spectrometry in the Health and Life Sciences; held in San Francisco in 1994. I place Biological Mass Spectrometry in inverted commas because this is a book that has been largely written by mass spectrometerists and concentrates (mostly) on the changes offered by biopolymers in their quest to work at ever higher mass and with increasingly involatile and intractable molecules. I do not mean to be overly critical on this point, but there are a lot of other areas in the biosciences that are benefitting from the application of mass spectrometry. Some of these rely on new application of 'old' technology, but others are a direct result of recent develop-
Book reviews
Talanta 44 (1997) 501 503
ments in mass spectrometry. As an inorganic mass spectrometerist I feel duty bound to mention that a section on inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry and more on the measurement and application of stable isotope tracers (organic and inorganic) would have been useful additions. Space does not permit an in-depth review of every chapter and it is hard to single out individual contributions from the text that is of such consistently high quality. However, to give a flavour of the contents I have selected a handful for special mention: Designing T O F / M S for the Future (R. Cotter et al), The Role of Fourier Transform Ion Cyclotron Resonance MS in Biological Research~-New Developments and Applications (R.D. Smith et al), M A L D I - T O F MS in the Quest for Novel Antibiotics (P. Tempst et al), Approaches to the Practical Use of Recognition Studies (A.M. Lawson et al) and Applications of Accelerator MS in Tocicology: A Highly Sensitive Tool for LowLevel Isotope Measurement (K.W. Turtletaub and J.S. Vogel). In addition to these there were chapters on DNA Sequencing, IR-MALDI MS of Proteins, Capillary LC/Electrospray MS and Tandem LC/ MS in Drug Biotransformations. This book is a must for all MS laboratories with an interest in biological applications. No one can fail to be impressed by the massive strides that have been made in the development and application of MS over the past decade. Equally no one can be in any doubt that we are only at the beginning of a most exciting phase of collaboration with our bioscience colleagues. B.A. McGaw
Thin-Layer Chromatography: Reagents and Detection Methods, Volume lb by H. Jork, W. Fuk, W. Fischer and H. Zimmer, VCH, Weinheim, 1994, x v i + 4 9 6 pp., £81.00. DM 198.00. ISBN 3-52728205-X. This volume is part of a series. Volume 1, which covers Physical and Chemical Detection Methods, is to be published in three Volumes (Volumes l a, l b and l c). Volume 2 will be concerned with Biochemical and Biological Detection Methods.
503
The particular volume under review deals with Activation Reactions, Reagent Sequences and Reagents. Volume l a is divided into three parts. Part 1 covers, in 137 pages, Specific Detection Methods and involves (i) Activation Reactions, (ii) Reagents for the Recognition of Functional Groups and (iii) Reagent sequences. Activation Reactions are subdivided into Photochemical, Thermochemical and Electrochemical Activation Reactions. Each method is briefly described with listings of exampies where the methods have been successfully used. In addition a number of more detailed procedures, e.g. for the detection of testosterone, are provided. The section on Reagents for the Recognition of Functional Groups is a short section (11 pages) and essentially provides a list of reagents for the detection of specific functional groups, e.g. aldehydes, amines etc. The third section of Part 1 (ca 80 pages) covers Reagents Sequences, which involve the use of combinations of such reactions as electrophilic substitutions, oxidations and reductions, azo couplings, metal complexations etc. for the detection of specific compounds or families of compounds. An example of a reaction sequence involves the sequential addition of (i)cerium(IV) sulphate/sodium arsenite/sulphuric acid, (ii) methylene blue and (iii) ammonia vapour for the detection of iodide ions and organoiodine compounds. For each quoted recipe, the preparation of all the necessary reagents, the method of application and, where known, the underlying chemistry are detailed. The major part (Part II, with over 300 pages) of this Volume is an alphabetical listing of reagents and their uses for the detection of specific types of compounds. For each reagent listed, the formula, the preparation of reagent solutions, the method of application, the chemical reactions undergone, the compounds detected and examples of tested procedures are all generally given. The excellent index at the end of this Volume covers not only Volume la but also Volume lb. The book is truly a mine of useful information. It clearly has a place in all chemistry libraries and is highly recommended by this reviewer. J.L. Wardell
Book reviews/ Talanta 44 (1997) 501 503
rials with analogous microstructural complexities, and to keep up with experimental and theoretical advances occurring in disciplines other than their own. The first two volumes were Statistical Physics of Macromolecules and, Biomimetics: Design and Processing of Materials. The large multi-authored text is divided into 10 parts and contains 52 chapters. Properties emphasised are those that are most relevant to physical chemistry and chemical physics, so that the more synthetic-organic topics such as the polymerization process and the chemical modification of polymers are not included. The first part of the book concentrates on Structure and is followed by a Theory section containing topics such as scaling and fractal dimension, computational parameters and rotational isomeric state models. Part 3, the largest in the book, deals with Thermodynamic properties such as heat capacities, thermal conductivities, glass temperatures, solubility parameters and many others. The small (29 pages) Spectroscopy section contains information on NMR, IR and, Neutron and X-ray scattering. Part 5 covers Mechanical Properties such as impact behaviour and viscoelasticity and includes chapters on adhesives and gels. Part 6 deals with Crystallinity and morphology and contains, for example, chapters on densities, unit cell information and crystallization kinetics. The 6 chapters of Part 7 concentrate on Electro-Optical and Magnetic Properties such as electrical conductivity, electroluminescence and the refractive index. Part 8 contains details of Responses to Radiation, Heat and Chemical Agents such as flammability, degradation and pyrolysability. The chapter on synthetic biodegradable polymers for medical applications is an overview of general interest, with many useful references for further reading. Part 9 of the book deals with surface and interfacial properties, acoustic properties and permeability of polymers to gases and vapors. Finally, part 10 lists a number of definitions, units and conversion factors. The many figures, tables and equations are of high quality, numerous references are included and the extensive indexing enables information to be located easily. Overall, this handbook succeeds in collating useful information on polymer prop-
erties and deserves a place in science libraries as well as in the numerous laboratories involved with polymer activities.
P.J. Cox
Practical Surface Analysis, Volume 2--1on and Neutral Spectroscopy, edited by D. Briggs and M.P. Seah, Second edition, Wiley, Chichester, 1992, xvi + 738 pp., £50.00. ISBN 0-471-96498-0. My favourable opinion of the hard-back version of this book, reviewed in Talanta, 1993, 40, 1995, remains unchanged even though the book is no longer up-to-date. The paper-back version will be welcomed by under- and post-graduate students because it is a relatively cheap, highly valuable book. Research supervisors will also welcome this version, for their highly-prized, hardback version need no longer be 'borrowed' by their students.
J.B. Craig
Mass Spectrometry in the Biological Sciences, edited by A.L. Burlingame and S.A. Carr, Humana, Totowa, New Jersey, 1996, xii + 570 pp., $145.00. ISBN 0-89603-340-6. This book contains 26 chapters written by leading practitioners in 'biological mass spectrometry' and is based on the 3rd International Symposium for Mass Spectrometry in the Health and Life Sciences; held in San Francisco in 1994. I place Biological Mass Spectrometry in inverted commas because this is a book that has been largely written by mass spectrometerists and concentrates (mostly) on the changes offered by biopolymers in their quest to work at ever higher mass and with increasingly involatile and intractable molecules. I do not mean to be overly critical on this point, but there are a lot of other areas in the biosciences that are benefitting from the application of mass spectrometry. Some of these rely on new application of 'old' technology, but others are a direct result of recent develop-
Book reviews
Talanta 44 (1997) 501 503
ments in mass spectrometry. As an inorganic mass spectrometerist I feel duty bound to mention that a section on inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry and more on the measurement and application of stable isotope tracers (organic and inorganic) would have been useful additions. Space does not permit an in-depth review of every chapter and it is hard to single out individual contributions from the text that is of such consistently high quality. However, to give a flavour of the contents I have selected a handful for special mention: Designing T O F / M S for the Future (R. Cotter et al), The Role of Fourier Transform Ion Cyclotron Resonance MS in Biological Research~-New Developments and Applications (R.D. Smith et al), M A L D I - T O F MS in the Quest for Novel Antibiotics (P. Tempst et al), Approaches to the Practical Use of Recognition Studies (A.M. Lawson et al) and Applications of Accelerator MS in Tocicology: A Highly Sensitive Tool for LowLevel Isotope Measurement (K.W. Turtletaub and J.S. Vogel). In addition to these there were chapters on DNA Sequencing, IR-MALDI MS of Proteins, Capillary LC/Electrospray MS and Tandem LC/ MS in Drug Biotransformations. This book is a must for all MS laboratories with an interest in biological applications. No one can fail to be impressed by the massive strides that have been made in the development and application of MS over the past decade. Equally no one can be in any doubt that we are only at the beginning of a most exciting phase of collaboration with our bioscience colleagues. B.A. McGaw
Thin-Layer Chromatography: Reagents and Detection Methods, Volume lb by H. Jork, W. Fuk, W. Fischer and H. Zimmer, VCH, Weinheim, 1994, x v i + 4 9 6 pp., £81.00. DM 198.00. ISBN 3-52728205-X. This volume is part of a series. Volume 1, which covers Physical and Chemical Detection Methods, is to be published in three Volumes (Volumes l a, l b and l c). Volume 2 will be concerned with Biochemical and Biological Detection Methods.
503
The particular volume under review deals with Activation Reactions, Reagent Sequences and Reagents. Volume l a is divided into three parts. Part 1 covers, in 137 pages, Specific Detection Methods and involves (i) Activation Reactions, (ii) Reagents for the Recognition of Functional Groups and (iii) Reagent sequences. Activation Reactions are subdivided into Photochemical, Thermochemical and Electrochemical Activation Reactions. Each method is briefly described with listings of exampies where the methods have been successfully used. In addition a number of more detailed procedures, e.g. for the detection of testosterone, are provided. The section on Reagents for the Recognition of Functional Groups is a short section (11 pages) and essentially provides a list of reagents for the detection of specific functional groups, e.g. aldehydes, amines etc. The third section of Part 1 (ca 80 pages) covers Reagents Sequences, which involve the use of combinations of such reactions as electrophilic substitutions, oxidations and reductions, azo couplings, metal complexations etc. for the detection of specific compounds or families of compounds. An example of a reaction sequence involves the sequential addition of (i)cerium(IV) sulphate/sodium arsenite/sulphuric acid, (ii) methylene blue and (iii) ammonia vapour for the detection of iodide ions and organoiodine compounds. For each quoted recipe, the preparation of all the necessary reagents, the method of application and, where known, the underlying chemistry are detailed. The major part (Part II, with over 300 pages) of this Volume is an alphabetical listing of reagents and their uses for the detection of specific types of compounds. For each reagent listed, the formula, the preparation of reagent solutions, the method of application, the chemical reactions undergone, the compounds detected and examples of tested procedures are all generally given. The excellent index at the end of this Volume covers not only Volume la but also Volume lb. The book is truly a mine of useful information. It clearly has a place in all chemistry libraries and is highly recommended by this reviewer. J.L. Wardell