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Advances in mass spectrometry
Spectrochimica Acta, Vol. 43A, No. 4, p. 589, 1987. PergamonJournals Ltd. Printedin Great Britain.
BOOK REVIEW
ADVANCES IN MASS SPECTROMETRY, edited by J. F. J. TODD. John Wiley & Sons Ltd, 1985, £195.00. These two substantial volumes contain the proceedings of the 10th triennial international mass spectrometry conference held in Swansea in September 1985. Part A consists of the full text of the plenary and keynote lectures, while Part B has extended abstracts of the remaining oral and poster presentations. Most of the recognised experts in the field are represented within these pages and the proceedings provide a comprehensive review of the present state of mass spectrometry. The topics covered include all aspects of instrumentation and applications, although the emphasis is on organic mass spectrometry. The plenary lectures on applications in biology, pharmacology and medicine (E. C. Horning), mechanistic aspects (H. Schwarz), instrumentation (J. F. J. Todd), developments in theory (J. C. Lorquet) and the physical chemistry of ion reactions (P. J. Derrick) give an authoritative overview of central themes of the subject. However, the 26 keynote lectures provide a more detailed review of many of the important aspects of mass spectrometry, including chromatography-mass spectrometry combinations, ionization methods, quantitative mass spectrometry, tandem mass spectrometry and ion chemistry, as well as the more exotic areas such as 14C dating and mass spectroscopic studies of Halley's comet. Inevitably in such a publication, the weight of the content is biased towards techniques and applications of current interest to practitioners in the field and some less popular topics are noticeably thin on the ground. Part B contains two-page extended abstracts of the large number of oral and poster presentations which made up the bulk of the meeting, broadly classified into 14 sections covering all aspects of mass spectrometry. Whilst Part A is well worth reading in its entirety, this volume is an Aladin's cave of techniques and applications which is best used for
dipping into. The extended abstracts tend to whet the appetite rather than satisfy a requirement for detailed information on a particular topic and the principal value of this section lies in offering a starting point from which to explore the recent literature further. A second use for this volume is in the opportunity provided for rapid review of the different approaches adopted by various research groups in new areas, which are currently the subject of great interest. For example, developments in the theory and practical application of the thermospray liquid chromatography interface, fast atom bombardment/liquid secondary ion mass spectrometry and MS/MS are extensively reported. The mammoth task of editing the proceedings has been excellently carried out by Dr Todd and considerable effort has gone into the rapid publication of these volumes, which do not suffer excessively from the problem, frequently faced by such compilations, of the content being superceded by current developments in the rapidly changing field of mass spectrometry. A comprehensive index is essential to the efficient use of Part B, particularly for cross-referencing those papers whose content makes them difficult to classify under the designated headings and adequate subject and author indexes are provided by the editor. These proceedings will be essential reading for those actively involved in the field of mass spectrometry. However, it is regretable that the high cost of the two volumes will deter all but the most ardent (and affluent) mass spectrometrist from purchasing personal copies. It is particularly unfortunate that these volumes might also be less readily available to those not directly involved in mass spectrometry, but who would undoubtly benefit from an appreciation of current developments applicable to their own field which would be gained by consulting this text. School of Chemical Sciences University of East Anolia Norwich NR4 7TJ, U.K.
589
C. S. CREASER
BOOK REVIEW
ADVANCES IN MASS SPECTROMETRY, edited by J. F. J. TODD. John Wiley & Sons Ltd, 1985, £195.00. These two substantial volumes contain the proceedings of the 10th triennial international mass spectrometry conference held in Swansea in September 1985. Part A consists of the full text of the plenary and keynote lectures, while Part B has extended abstracts of the remaining oral and poster presentations. Most of the recognised experts in the field are represented within these pages and the proceedings provide a comprehensive review of the present state of mass spectrometry. The topics covered include all aspects of instrumentation and applications, although the emphasis is on organic mass spectrometry. The plenary lectures on applications in biology, pharmacology and medicine (E. C. Horning), mechanistic aspects (H. Schwarz), instrumentation (J. F. J. Todd), developments in theory (J. C. Lorquet) and the physical chemistry of ion reactions (P. J. Derrick) give an authoritative overview of central themes of the subject. However, the 26 keynote lectures provide a more detailed review of many of the important aspects of mass spectrometry, including chromatography-mass spectrometry combinations, ionization methods, quantitative mass spectrometry, tandem mass spectrometry and ion chemistry, as well as the more exotic areas such as 14C dating and mass spectroscopic studies of Halley's comet. Inevitably in such a publication, the weight of the content is biased towards techniques and applications of current interest to practitioners in the field and some less popular topics are noticeably thin on the ground. Part B contains two-page extended abstracts of the large number of oral and poster presentations which made up the bulk of the meeting, broadly classified into 14 sections covering all aspects of mass spectrometry. Whilst Part A is well worth reading in its entirety, this volume is an Aladin's cave of techniques and applications which is best used for
dipping into. The extended abstracts tend to whet the appetite rather than satisfy a requirement for detailed information on a particular topic and the principal value of this section lies in offering a starting point from which to explore the recent literature further. A second use for this volume is in the opportunity provided for rapid review of the different approaches adopted by various research groups in new areas, which are currently the subject of great interest. For example, developments in the theory and practical application of the thermospray liquid chromatography interface, fast atom bombardment/liquid secondary ion mass spectrometry and MS/MS are extensively reported. The mammoth task of editing the proceedings has been excellently carried out by Dr Todd and considerable effort has gone into the rapid publication of these volumes, which do not suffer excessively from the problem, frequently faced by such compilations, of the content being superceded by current developments in the rapidly changing field of mass spectrometry. A comprehensive index is essential to the efficient use of Part B, particularly for cross-referencing those papers whose content makes them difficult to classify under the designated headings and adequate subject and author indexes are provided by the editor. These proceedings will be essential reading for those actively involved in the field of mass spectrometry. However, it is regretable that the high cost of the two volumes will deter all but the most ardent (and affluent) mass spectrometrist from purchasing personal copies. It is particularly unfortunate that these volumes might also be less readily available to those not directly involved in mass spectrometry, but who would undoubtly benefit from an appreciation of current developments applicable to their own field which would be gained by consulting this text. School of Chemical Sciences University of East Anolia Norwich NR4 7TJ, U.K.
589
C. S. CREASER