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Biosensor Principles and Applications
191
Book Renews
tlve transformations such as the Laplace transformatlon and autoregresslon and outhnes the conditions under which they provide supenor resolution The remammg Chapters (7-9) are techmquespecific dealmg with FT Ion cyclotron resonance mass spectroscopy, FT nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy and FT mterferometry I found these chapters the most easy to read bemg a practical and practlsmg spectroscopist and I suspect that this will be true for many who purchase this book Indeed these chapters can be read with mmnnal reference to the prevrous ones yet stdl provide an adequate understandmg of each techmque The authors should be congratulated for this as there 1s appeal for the less mathematically orientated spectroscopists In general I thmk this book will be most valuable as a reference work owmg to Its comprehensive and clear treatment of a relatively complex SubJeCt which needed to be snnphfled However for the latter reason It ~11 also serve as an excellent text book for graduate students It 1s also essential readmg for spectroscopists with more than a passing interest m FT techniques R D Snook
trends 1s most unhkely from the hterature cited, with the rapidly changmg sclentlfic chmate However, after mdlcatmg a certam disapproval for the book there are some chapters of ment Of partrcular note 1s the chapter on “Modern Methods of Decomposltlon of Inorganic Substances” This is a subject that IS frequently dlsmlssed m a short paragraph m most texts This, coupled with the limited amount of dedicated literature (textbooks and papers) makes this contnbutlon of great interest, particularly for student use The chapter covers decomposltlon of morgame material at increased temperature and pressure, with acid vapours and fusion methods Also noted 1s the chapter on analytical measurement m flowmg streams which contams useful mformatlon on a range of detection systems together with their respective figures of merit A particularly dlsappomtmg chapter 1s “New Sources m Optical Emlsslon Spectrometry” which falls to consider anything more recent than the 1970s’ The dlscusslon of the LMA-1 laser sampling device must omrt ten years of research that has used Nd YAG lasers for OES and MS Also, no mention 1s made of what are currently regarded as “new” sources such as FANES, FAPES, GDs with r f or microwave excltatlon etc John R Dean
J Zyka, Instrumentatton m Analyttcal Chemistry I, Elhs Horwood, Chlchester, 1991 (ISBN O-13472218-3) 368 pp Price US$90 50 The book, the first m a series of volumes, focuses on the rapidly changing field of “Instrumentatlon m Analytical Chemistry”, the aim of which 1s to update scientists, m particular analytlcal chemists, with the ever changmg mstrumentatlon avadable Whde the philosophy of the editor 1s not m doubt the ablhty to convey the message, however, 1s far from convmcmg This 1s due m part to the use of out-of-date literature While the choice of literature 1s not often crltlased it 1s of particular note here that of the entire cited literature less than 10% 1s post-1986 It 1s accepted that the older references can have a slgmflcant part m a hlstorlcal and/or mtroductory context The abrhty to predict new Instrumental
Lolc J Blum and Pierre R Coulet (Eds >, Bwsensor Pnnczples and Apphcatrons, Marcel Dekker, New York, 1991 (ISBN 0-8247-8546-O) x + 376 pp Price US$l25 00 The area of chemlcal/blologlcal sensors 1s one that has received much attention m recent years, both m the primary literature and m books This present volume IS part of a series on bloprocess technology, but covers a much wider remit, owing to the restncted number of practical apphcatlons that blosensors have found m the momtormg of blotechnologlcal processes The book 1s dlvlded into fourteen chapters, which have been written by experts m the field, and provides a good balance between the various transducers/ blologlcal recogmtlon systems currently being m-
192
Book Revwws
vestlgated for use m blosensors The emphasis m each chapter 1s on the prmclple of measurement, the blologtcal material used, the description of transducers, and characterlstlcs and performance of the blosensor thus designed As such the book has a practical approach which will be useful for those readers who are coming to the SubJect for the first time, as well as those who are already practltloners As a volume m this particular series, it would have benefited from some other chapters dealing specrflcally with bloprocess monitoring, e g , m fermentation processes, and m the area of signal processmg/control It can, however, be recommended for purchase by those sclentlsts wanting a good, broad, up-to-date coverage of the field of blosensors Malcolm R Smyth
H Rotzsche, Statwnary Phases m Gas Chromatography (J Chromatogr Lzbrary, Vol 48), Elsevler, Amsterdam, 1991 (ISBN O-444-98733-9) XIV+ 410 pp Price US$166 50 Selectively separating stationary phases were very important m GC during the packed column era With such phases, the desired separation could often be achieved m spite of poor plate numbers As a consequence, several hundred types of selective phases were reported These were thoroughly described m the monograph Statlonary Phases m Gas Chromatography by Bamlescu and Ihe (Pergamon Press, Oxford, 1975) Smce that time, GC has developed to a relatively mature technique Several factors, such as the breakthrough of open tubular columns, the advent of nnmoblhzed stationary phases, the use of well-deactivated fused-silica caplllarles and the appearance of refined stationary phase qualities have all contnbuted to the development This recently published book may be Justtfied in view of the extensive development of GC It may, on the other hand, seem odd to present such a book at a time when the very high separation efficiencles that are available with non-polar open tubular GC columns have margmahzed the role of selective phases It 1s often considered that ca
70% of all GC can be performed on non-polar phases, and that only five or SIXselectrve phases are mcluded m a set of preferred phases The book is, to a large extent, based on matereal that has been published earher m the former East Germany, and some sections are not really up to date, only 2 5% of the references are later than 1986 Selective phases for packed c&nnns are treated extensively, and much of the mformatlon given m the book by Bamlescu 1s repeated On the other hand, some areas that are important m current GC are treated quite brlefly One such area 1s the adsorption at the gas-hqurd interface Another area that 1s only brlefly treated 1s the separation of choral compounds on cyclodextrms and derivatives thereof Although the GC field has matured, separation on cyclodextrms 1s a rapidly developmg area The merit of this book 1s that the knowledge of stationary phases and separation columns that was earlier scattered throughout the literature has now been made easily accessible The book can be recommended as a reference book for GC laboratories L G Blomberg
Horaclo A Mottola and James R Stemmetz (Eds 1, ChemrcaUy Modzjkd Surfaces (Proceedmgs of the Fourth Symposmm on Chenucally Modlfled Surfaces, Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania, July 31-August 2, 1990, Elsevler, Amsterdam, 1992 (ISBN O-444-89305-9) xm + 399 pp Price US$197 OO/Dfl 345 00 This 1s a collection of 23 papers, and 6 abstracts of papers not published m full, grouped mto characterlsatlon of chemically modified surfaces (6 papers), modlftcatlon of polymer surfaces (31, chemical modlflcatlon of silica (5), chemical modlflcatron of membranes and films (4) and other topics (3) There 1s an mterestmg mtroductory paper by Mottola on chemical lmmoblhsatlon m chemistry, and a plenary lecture by Drake et al on fractal surfaces The topics of most interest to analytlcal chemists concern the modlflcation of membranes such as mnnoblllsatlon of
Book Renews
tlve transformations such as the Laplace transformatlon and autoregresslon and outhnes the conditions under which they provide supenor resolution The remammg Chapters (7-9) are techmquespecific dealmg with FT Ion cyclotron resonance mass spectroscopy, FT nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy and FT mterferometry I found these chapters the most easy to read bemg a practical and practlsmg spectroscopist and I suspect that this will be true for many who purchase this book Indeed these chapters can be read with mmnnal reference to the prevrous ones yet stdl provide an adequate understandmg of each techmque The authors should be congratulated for this as there 1s appeal for the less mathematically orientated spectroscopists In general I thmk this book will be most valuable as a reference work owmg to Its comprehensive and clear treatment of a relatively complex SubJeCt which needed to be snnphfled However for the latter reason It ~11 also serve as an excellent text book for graduate students It 1s also essential readmg for spectroscopists with more than a passing interest m FT techniques R D Snook
trends 1s most unhkely from the hterature cited, with the rapidly changmg sclentlfic chmate However, after mdlcatmg a certam disapproval for the book there are some chapters of ment Of partrcular note 1s the chapter on “Modern Methods of Decomposltlon of Inorganic Substances” This is a subject that IS frequently dlsmlssed m a short paragraph m most texts This, coupled with the limited amount of dedicated literature (textbooks and papers) makes this contnbutlon of great interest, particularly for student use The chapter covers decomposltlon of morgame material at increased temperature and pressure, with acid vapours and fusion methods Also noted 1s the chapter on analytical measurement m flowmg streams which contams useful mformatlon on a range of detection systems together with their respective figures of merit A particularly dlsappomtmg chapter 1s “New Sources m Optical Emlsslon Spectrometry” which falls to consider anything more recent than the 1970s’ The dlscusslon of the LMA-1 laser sampling device must omrt ten years of research that has used Nd YAG lasers for OES and MS Also, no mention 1s made of what are currently regarded as “new” sources such as FANES, FAPES, GDs with r f or microwave excltatlon etc John R Dean
J Zyka, Instrumentatton m Analyttcal Chemistry I, Elhs Horwood, Chlchester, 1991 (ISBN O-13472218-3) 368 pp Price US$90 50 The book, the first m a series of volumes, focuses on the rapidly changing field of “Instrumentatlon m Analytical Chemistry”, the aim of which 1s to update scientists, m particular analytlcal chemists, with the ever changmg mstrumentatlon avadable Whde the philosophy of the editor 1s not m doubt the ablhty to convey the message, however, 1s far from convmcmg This 1s due m part to the use of out-of-date literature While the choice of literature 1s not often crltlased it 1s of particular note here that of the entire cited literature less than 10% 1s post-1986 It 1s accepted that the older references can have a slgmflcant part m a hlstorlcal and/or mtroductory context The abrhty to predict new Instrumental
Lolc J Blum and Pierre R Coulet (Eds >, Bwsensor Pnnczples and Apphcatrons, Marcel Dekker, New York, 1991 (ISBN 0-8247-8546-O) x + 376 pp Price US$l25 00 The area of chemlcal/blologlcal sensors 1s one that has received much attention m recent years, both m the primary literature and m books This present volume IS part of a series on bloprocess technology, but covers a much wider remit, owing to the restncted number of practical apphcatlons that blosensors have found m the momtormg of blotechnologlcal processes The book 1s dlvlded into fourteen chapters, which have been written by experts m the field, and provides a good balance between the various transducers/ blologlcal recogmtlon systems currently being m-
192
Book Revwws
vestlgated for use m blosensors The emphasis m each chapter 1s on the prmclple of measurement, the blologtcal material used, the description of transducers, and characterlstlcs and performance of the blosensor thus designed As such the book has a practical approach which will be useful for those readers who are coming to the SubJect for the first time, as well as those who are already practltloners As a volume m this particular series, it would have benefited from some other chapters dealing specrflcally with bloprocess monitoring, e g , m fermentation processes, and m the area of signal processmg/control It can, however, be recommended for purchase by those sclentlsts wanting a good, broad, up-to-date coverage of the field of blosensors Malcolm R Smyth
H Rotzsche, Statwnary Phases m Gas Chromatography (J Chromatogr Lzbrary, Vol 48), Elsevler, Amsterdam, 1991 (ISBN O-444-98733-9) XIV+ 410 pp Price US$166 50 Selectively separating stationary phases were very important m GC during the packed column era With such phases, the desired separation could often be achieved m spite of poor plate numbers As a consequence, several hundred types of selective phases were reported These were thoroughly described m the monograph Statlonary Phases m Gas Chromatography by Bamlescu and Ihe (Pergamon Press, Oxford, 1975) Smce that time, GC has developed to a relatively mature technique Several factors, such as the breakthrough of open tubular columns, the advent of nnmoblhzed stationary phases, the use of well-deactivated fused-silica caplllarles and the appearance of refined stationary phase qualities have all contnbuted to the development This recently published book may be Justtfied in view of the extensive development of GC It may, on the other hand, seem odd to present such a book at a time when the very high separation efficiencles that are available with non-polar open tubular GC columns have margmahzed the role of selective phases It 1s often considered that ca
70% of all GC can be performed on non-polar phases, and that only five or SIXselectrve phases are mcluded m a set of preferred phases The book is, to a large extent, based on matereal that has been published earher m the former East Germany, and some sections are not really up to date, only 2 5% of the references are later than 1986 Selective phases for packed c&nnns are treated extensively, and much of the mformatlon given m the book by Bamlescu 1s repeated On the other hand, some areas that are important m current GC are treated quite brlefly One such area 1s the adsorption at the gas-hqurd interface Another area that 1s only brlefly treated 1s the separation of choral compounds on cyclodextrms and derivatives thereof Although the GC field has matured, separation on cyclodextrms 1s a rapidly developmg area The merit of this book 1s that the knowledge of stationary phases and separation columns that was earlier scattered throughout the literature has now been made easily accessible The book can be recommended as a reference book for GC laboratories L G Blomberg
Horaclo A Mottola and James R Stemmetz (Eds 1, ChemrcaUy Modzjkd Surfaces (Proceedmgs of the Fourth Symposmm on Chenucally Modlfled Surfaces, Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania, July 31-August 2, 1990, Elsevler, Amsterdam, 1992 (ISBN O-444-89305-9) xm + 399 pp Price US$197 OO/Dfl 345 00 This 1s a collection of 23 papers, and 6 abstracts of papers not published m full, grouped mto characterlsatlon of chemically modified surfaces (6 papers), modlftcatlon of polymer surfaces (31, chemical modlflcatlon of silica (5), chemical modlflcatron of membranes and films (4) and other topics (3) There 1s an mterestmg mtroductory paper by Mottola on chemical lmmoblhsatlon m chemistry, and a plenary lecture by Drake et al on fractal surfaces The topics of most interest to analytlcal chemists concern the modlflcation of membranes such as mnnoblllsatlon of