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Affinity chromatography: A practical approach
xx
trends in analytical chemistry, vol. 4, m. 9, 1985 v
books On TLC and the use of lasers in spectroscopy Analytical Chemistry Progress (Topics in Current Chemistry, Vol. 126), edited by F. L. Boschke, SpringerVerlag, 1984, DM 68.00 (118 pages) ISBN 3-540-135960
This slim volume of 118 pages presents a critical review of five topics of interest to some analytical chemists. The volume title, ‘Analytical Chemistry Progress’ is perhaps misleading as only two subjects are covered, the use of lasers in spectroscopy and some techniques in thin-layer chromatography. The first chapter by R. B. Green discusses laser-enhanced ionization spectrometry in 22, pages with 58 references. Laser-enhanced ionization is a relatively new technique for the determination of metals in flames in which the laser is used to selectively promote analyte atoms to a bound excited state from which they are collisionally ionized resulting in a current detected by placing a voltage across the flame. Instrumentation and applications of the method are discussed. Detection limits are claimed to be similar or superior to other flame based atomic spectroscopic methods but unfortunately little other comparative information is given. It is hard to judge whether the technique belongs to the class of ‘novel and academically interesting’ or ‘will be commercially developed and used in the future’. The second chapter by A. Anders deals with laser spectroscopy of biomolecules in 26 pages with 95 references. After a brief discussion of lasers and their properties the remainder of the article deals with absorption or fluorescence spectra of chlorophyll, nucleic acids, hemoglobin, myoglobin, rhodopsin, and photomedicine. Here the principal use of the laser is to make possible the measurements of special transition states of very low efficiency. The remaining three articles deal with thin-layer chromatography.
D.-G. Volkmann discusses ion pair chromatography on reversed-phase layers in 17 pages with 30 references. This review suffers by comparison with some of the other articles in having seemingly been prepared a good deal earlier. The reference list is current to 1981 and unfortunately several recent and important contributions to ion-pair chromatography on reversed-phase layers are missing. Likewise the mechanistic aspects of ion-pair chromatography discussed in the text are now known to be too simplistic to adequately explain the situation in reality. Table 2, a survey of the literature of ion-pair chromatography on reversed-phase layers, is a useful compilation for those readers looking for a source of experimental details for the different sample types that have been analyzed up to 1981. In the fourth chapter Ebel describes evaluation and calibration in quantitative thin-layer chromatography in 23 pages with 98 references. Combined with the last chapter entitled, ‘Evalutation Systems in Quantitative Thin-layer Chromatography’ by I. M. Bohrer (22 pages and 59 references) it provides a good overview of instrumental thin-layer measure-
ment techniques. Instrumental considerations are discussed in general terms rather than discussing properties of particular commercially available instruments. Ebel’s chapter would be useful reading for anyone performing in situ quantitation of TLC spots for the first time. He rightly emphasizes the statistically important parameters in handling data which is inherently non-linear, which is the general case for reflectance measurements in TLC. Unfortunately, the ease of assimilating the information in the last three chapters is made the more difficult through lack of careful editing. Here the publisher could have made a much better job of correcting grammar and spelling errors. Altogether this is a useful volume. The contents are too diverse to suggest purchase by individual scientists but it would not be out of place in a university or industrial research library. COLIN F. POOLE Colin F. Poole is Associate Professor of Analytical Chemistry at Wayne State University, Department of Chemistry, Detroit, MI 48202, U.S.A.
Valuable for the purification of biologically active molecules Affinity Chromatography: a Practical Approach, edited by P. D.G. Dean, W.S. Johnson and F.A. Middle, IRL Press, f 11.00lUS$20.00 (xv + 215 ISBN pages) 0 904147 71 1
This book is the tenth book on affinity chromatography which has appeared during the last ten years. In most of the previous books the em-
phasis has mainly been on the concept of affinity chromatography, the theory behind it, and its potential applications. In this book the emphasis is on the practical methodical side. While other books have tried to keep a balance between the descriptive and applicative, this book attempts to be devoted to the methodology with very little description. The book commences with a pessimistic preface that affinity chromato-
trends in analytical chemistry, vol. 4, no. 9,1985
XXI
,
graphy (as we know it today for the purification of biologically active compounds) may not be needed in the future, since it is now possible to purify proteins prepared by genetic engineering at the DNA level, rather than after the product has been expressed. Unfortunately the editors of the book provided only the names of the inventors of this novel technique without giving a reference. It took me a lot of library time, and then an overseas call to one of the computer information centers to locate the reference. Since this reference really presents a very interesting approach to protein purification, I include the omitted reference here: J.C. Smith, R.B. Derbyshire, E. Cook, L. Dunthorne, J. Viney, S.J. Brewer, H.M. Sassenfeld and K.D. Bell, Gene, 32 (1984) 321. The rest of the book represents an interesting approach to preparing a manual of laboratory procedures. The editors tried to collect the best laboratory methods to prepare affinity columns from different experts in particular fields. In the first five chapters, they succeeded very nicely, and we see very useful procedures written by different scientists. It
seems, however that not all of the scientists-authors who were asked to write the procedures understood the purpose of the book, and some supplied practical review articles which were included as such. The book contains eight chapters. The first chapter deals with the different matrices available and suggestions regarding the proper choice of matrix. The second chapter contains different activation procedures for the matrices described. Chapter three describes the introduction of spacer arms (both activated and activatable) and of some ligands coupled to the matrices. Chapter four deals with operational procedures for handling the affinity column (e.g., determination of capacity, stability, buffers used, desorption procedures, storage, etc.). Chapter five switches from the matrices to the ligands and describes the different molecules (nucleic acid, proteins, polysaccharides cofactors, and general ligands) which have been coupled to the matrices for affinity chromatography. Their practical application in selected cases is described. In this chapter some practical applications of related techniques (e.g., hydro-
For the new investigator in estuarine and coastal research Practical Estuarine Chemistry: A Handbook, edited by P. C. Head, Cambridge University Press, 1985. f 25.00 (337 pages) ISBN 0 521 30165 3
This book is one of a series of three handbooks sponsored by the Estuarine and Brackish-Water Sciences Association. The first book in the series dealt with hydrography and sedimentation, and the last will deal with estuarine biology. _The book concerns itself with the reasons for taking particular kinds of samples, the methods of taking them, the reasons for the choice of one analytical method over another in particular circumstances, and the proper interpretation of the resulting data. This is not
a cookbook, in the tradition of Strickland and Parsons, or even in the more sophisticated tradition of Grasshoff, Ehrhardt, and Kremling; the scientist who is looking for exact directions for running a particular analysis must go to one of these books, or to the original literature. The original literature is well covered in the various chapters, a particularly useful feature in a field which until recently had no dedicated journal. A good idea of the content of the book can be gained from the chapter headings: estuarine chemistry and general survey strategy; operations in the field; salinity, dissolved oxygen and nutrients; trace element analysis; analysis: organic matter; ion selective electrodes in estuarine
phobic chromatography) are also demonstrated. The last three chapters as mentioned earlier are practical reviews. Two of them (chapters six and seven) are concerned with quantitative aspects of affinity chromatography, and chapter eight comprises a review on cell separation and an advertisement for a particular column type. The book is well written and organized. There are some typographical mistakes, and some sentences are misplaced (e.g., page 34 (VII) belongs to another activation procedure and may thus confuse the newcomer). Otherwise the book is very readable. The book will be a valuable asset as a companion manual to individuals or laboratories which are involved in purifying biologically active molecules, and should be used after consulting some of the earlier books in the field or the original literature. MEIR WILCHEK Meir Wilchek is at the Department of Biophysics, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel.
analysis; and data presentation and interpretation. The choice of authors for the chapters was excellent, and the material is presented clearly. The discussions of methodology have not been oversimplified, but instead are presented with all their warts and blemishes. The book itself is attractively packaged, not the least of its attractions being its (relatively) low price. This book would not be out of place on any chemical oceanographer’s bookshelf, but it is particularly designed for the new investigator in estuarine and coastal research. Combined with ‘Methods of Seawater Analysis’ by Grasshoff, Ehrhardt, and Kremling, it is a veritable vademecum for inshore chemistry. P. S. WANGERSKY P. J. Wangersky is Professor of Chemical Oceanography, Dalhousie University, Halifax, N.S. B3H4J1, Canada.
trends in analytical chemistry, vol. 4, m. 9, 1985 v
books On TLC and the use of lasers in spectroscopy Analytical Chemistry Progress (Topics in Current Chemistry, Vol. 126), edited by F. L. Boschke, SpringerVerlag, 1984, DM 68.00 (118 pages) ISBN 3-540-135960
This slim volume of 118 pages presents a critical review of five topics of interest to some analytical chemists. The volume title, ‘Analytical Chemistry Progress’ is perhaps misleading as only two subjects are covered, the use of lasers in spectroscopy and some techniques in thin-layer chromatography. The first chapter by R. B. Green discusses laser-enhanced ionization spectrometry in 22, pages with 58 references. Laser-enhanced ionization is a relatively new technique for the determination of metals in flames in which the laser is used to selectively promote analyte atoms to a bound excited state from which they are collisionally ionized resulting in a current detected by placing a voltage across the flame. Instrumentation and applications of the method are discussed. Detection limits are claimed to be similar or superior to other flame based atomic spectroscopic methods but unfortunately little other comparative information is given. It is hard to judge whether the technique belongs to the class of ‘novel and academically interesting’ or ‘will be commercially developed and used in the future’. The second chapter by A. Anders deals with laser spectroscopy of biomolecules in 26 pages with 95 references. After a brief discussion of lasers and their properties the remainder of the article deals with absorption or fluorescence spectra of chlorophyll, nucleic acids, hemoglobin, myoglobin, rhodopsin, and photomedicine. Here the principal use of the laser is to make possible the measurements of special transition states of very low efficiency. The remaining three articles deal with thin-layer chromatography.
D.-G. Volkmann discusses ion pair chromatography on reversed-phase layers in 17 pages with 30 references. This review suffers by comparison with some of the other articles in having seemingly been prepared a good deal earlier. The reference list is current to 1981 and unfortunately several recent and important contributions to ion-pair chromatography on reversed-phase layers are missing. Likewise the mechanistic aspects of ion-pair chromatography discussed in the text are now known to be too simplistic to adequately explain the situation in reality. Table 2, a survey of the literature of ion-pair chromatography on reversed-phase layers, is a useful compilation for those readers looking for a source of experimental details for the different sample types that have been analyzed up to 1981. In the fourth chapter Ebel describes evaluation and calibration in quantitative thin-layer chromatography in 23 pages with 98 references. Combined with the last chapter entitled, ‘Evalutation Systems in Quantitative Thin-layer Chromatography’ by I. M. Bohrer (22 pages and 59 references) it provides a good overview of instrumental thin-layer measure-
ment techniques. Instrumental considerations are discussed in general terms rather than discussing properties of particular commercially available instruments. Ebel’s chapter would be useful reading for anyone performing in situ quantitation of TLC spots for the first time. He rightly emphasizes the statistically important parameters in handling data which is inherently non-linear, which is the general case for reflectance measurements in TLC. Unfortunately, the ease of assimilating the information in the last three chapters is made the more difficult through lack of careful editing. Here the publisher could have made a much better job of correcting grammar and spelling errors. Altogether this is a useful volume. The contents are too diverse to suggest purchase by individual scientists but it would not be out of place in a university or industrial research library. COLIN F. POOLE Colin F. Poole is Associate Professor of Analytical Chemistry at Wayne State University, Department of Chemistry, Detroit, MI 48202, U.S.A.
Valuable for the purification of biologically active molecules Affinity Chromatography: a Practical Approach, edited by P. D.G. Dean, W.S. Johnson and F.A. Middle, IRL Press, f 11.00lUS$20.00 (xv + 215 ISBN pages) 0 904147 71 1
This book is the tenth book on affinity chromatography which has appeared during the last ten years. In most of the previous books the em-
phasis has mainly been on the concept of affinity chromatography, the theory behind it, and its potential applications. In this book the emphasis is on the practical methodical side. While other books have tried to keep a balance between the descriptive and applicative, this book attempts to be devoted to the methodology with very little description. The book commences with a pessimistic preface that affinity chromato-
trends in analytical chemistry, vol. 4, no. 9,1985
XXI
,
graphy (as we know it today for the purification of biologically active compounds) may not be needed in the future, since it is now possible to purify proteins prepared by genetic engineering at the DNA level, rather than after the product has been expressed. Unfortunately the editors of the book provided only the names of the inventors of this novel technique without giving a reference. It took me a lot of library time, and then an overseas call to one of the computer information centers to locate the reference. Since this reference really presents a very interesting approach to protein purification, I include the omitted reference here: J.C. Smith, R.B. Derbyshire, E. Cook, L. Dunthorne, J. Viney, S.J. Brewer, H.M. Sassenfeld and K.D. Bell, Gene, 32 (1984) 321. The rest of the book represents an interesting approach to preparing a manual of laboratory procedures. The editors tried to collect the best laboratory methods to prepare affinity columns from different experts in particular fields. In the first five chapters, they succeeded very nicely, and we see very useful procedures written by different scientists. It
seems, however that not all of the scientists-authors who were asked to write the procedures understood the purpose of the book, and some supplied practical review articles which were included as such. The book contains eight chapters. The first chapter deals with the different matrices available and suggestions regarding the proper choice of matrix. The second chapter contains different activation procedures for the matrices described. Chapter three describes the introduction of spacer arms (both activated and activatable) and of some ligands coupled to the matrices. Chapter four deals with operational procedures for handling the affinity column (e.g., determination of capacity, stability, buffers used, desorption procedures, storage, etc.). Chapter five switches from the matrices to the ligands and describes the different molecules (nucleic acid, proteins, polysaccharides cofactors, and general ligands) which have been coupled to the matrices for affinity chromatography. Their practical application in selected cases is described. In this chapter some practical applications of related techniques (e.g., hydro-
For the new investigator in estuarine and coastal research Practical Estuarine Chemistry: A Handbook, edited by P. C. Head, Cambridge University Press, 1985. f 25.00 (337 pages) ISBN 0 521 30165 3
This book is one of a series of three handbooks sponsored by the Estuarine and Brackish-Water Sciences Association. The first book in the series dealt with hydrography and sedimentation, and the last will deal with estuarine biology. _The book concerns itself with the reasons for taking particular kinds of samples, the methods of taking them, the reasons for the choice of one analytical method over another in particular circumstances, and the proper interpretation of the resulting data. This is not
a cookbook, in the tradition of Strickland and Parsons, or even in the more sophisticated tradition of Grasshoff, Ehrhardt, and Kremling; the scientist who is looking for exact directions for running a particular analysis must go to one of these books, or to the original literature. The original literature is well covered in the various chapters, a particularly useful feature in a field which until recently had no dedicated journal. A good idea of the content of the book can be gained from the chapter headings: estuarine chemistry and general survey strategy; operations in the field; salinity, dissolved oxygen and nutrients; trace element analysis; analysis: organic matter; ion selective electrodes in estuarine
phobic chromatography) are also demonstrated. The last three chapters as mentioned earlier are practical reviews. Two of them (chapters six and seven) are concerned with quantitative aspects of affinity chromatography, and chapter eight comprises a review on cell separation and an advertisement for a particular column type. The book is well written and organized. There are some typographical mistakes, and some sentences are misplaced (e.g., page 34 (VII) belongs to another activation procedure and may thus confuse the newcomer). Otherwise the book is very readable. The book will be a valuable asset as a companion manual to individuals or laboratories which are involved in purifying biologically active molecules, and should be used after consulting some of the earlier books in the field or the original literature. MEIR WILCHEK Meir Wilchek is at the Department of Biophysics, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel.
analysis; and data presentation and interpretation. The choice of authors for the chapters was excellent, and the material is presented clearly. The discussions of methodology have not been oversimplified, but instead are presented with all their warts and blemishes. The book itself is attractively packaged, not the least of its attractions being its (relatively) low price. This book would not be out of place on any chemical oceanographer’s bookshelf, but it is particularly designed for the new investigator in estuarine and coastal research. Combined with ‘Methods of Seawater Analysis’ by Grasshoff, Ehrhardt, and Kremling, it is a veritable vademecum for inshore chemistry. P. S. WANGERSKY P. J. Wangersky is Professor of Chemical Oceanography, Dalhousie University, Halifax, N.S. B3H4J1, Canada.