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Handbook of Quality Assurance for the Analytical Chemistry Laboratory
Analytlca ChlmtcaActa, 258 (1992) 347-352 Elsewer
Saence
Pubhshers
B
347
V . Amsterdam
BOOK REVIEWS Cohn F Poole and Salwa K. Poole, ChromatogruAmsterdam, 1991 [ISBN O444-88492-O (hard bound), ISBN O-444-89161-7 (paperback)] x + 1026 pp Price US$147 50/Dfl 295 00 (hard bound), US$75 OO/ Dfl 15000 (paperback)
phy Today, Elsever,
This 1s an ambrtlous book Its philosophy stems from an earher work by the same authors, the highly successful Contemporary Practzce of Chromatography, but 1s a completely new work The suns are to provide both a postgraduate textbook and a source book for practlcloners of all aspects of modern chromatography There are mne chapters, each with an exhaustive list of references to the prnnary hterature A chapter on the fundamental relatlonshlps m chromatography 1s followed by four core chapters on instrumental aspects of GC and LC, separate chapters are devoted to the column m both techniques Here, there are especially good accounts on recent progress m the understandmg of the factors affecting the preparation of stable, mactlve and selective open-tubular columns for GC, and m the varlatlon of LC column propertles wth the packmg material preparation procedure One might, however, have liked more on the current tendency towards mlcropacked columns, where small volume flow-rates are advantageous m coupling to speetroscoplc detectors The account of GC detection 1s very thorough, wtth, for example, a full description of the atomic emlsslon detector Shorter chapters on first SFC and then TLC follow The former 1s a model mtroductlon to the technique, emphaslsmg its niche m contemporary separation science A longer chapter on sample preparation for chromatographlc analysis hrmgs together much mformatlon on a variety of methods of sample collection and clean-up, including supercntlcal fluid extraction Coupled chromatographic methods are covered here, with LC-GC promment The final chapter describes hyphen0003-2670/92/$05
00 0 1992 - Elsewer
Saence
Pubhshers
ation of chromatography with mass and infrared spectrometry The presentation 1s clear and readable, obwous care has been taken m selecting the Figures A camera-ready format has ensured rapid pubhcation, with many 1990 references mcluded Tlus 1s a worthy successor to the earher volume and can be strongly recommended to all chromatographers Keith D Bartle
James P Dux, Handbook of Quakty Assurance for the Analyhcal Chemwry Laboratory, 2nd edn, Van Nostrand Reinhold, New York, 1990 (ISBN O-442-23954-8) xu + 203 pp Pnce f26 00 A useful compllatlon of techniques needed to ensure the production of good quality analytlcal data and results 1s provided m this book James Dux’s approach 1s necessanly biased by lus career m the USA, but many of his observations are generally valid m other countries and under other regimes Elementary statlstlcs, control charting and sampling form three of the chapters but it 1s m the remaining ten that the mam value of the book lies It 1s here that many of the quality assurance procedures needed for a laboratory to produce data and results of consistent vahdlty and high quality are described It 1s here also that Dux 1s at his most authoritative, particularly when descnbmg documentation, laboratory procedures and facllitles However, his descnptions of laboratory personnel and mdustrlal relations is tradltlonal If not quaint The new chapter on computers and robotics concentrates mainly on the apphcatlon of LIMS systems, it does not tackle the complex questions of software and hardware vahdatlon Overall, this is a useful book for someone Just starting a laboratory quahty assurance campaign
B V All nghts reserved
BOOK
348
and a useful check-list for someone wanting to see d they have forgotten something R L Tranter
J Tolgyessy, E Havr6nek and E Depnkovi, Radlonucluie X-ray Flmrescence Anaiyszs wrth Envrronmental Apphcatwns, Volume XXVI of Wrlson and Wdson’s Comprehenstve Anaiyttcal Chemrstry, G Svehla (Ed 1, Elsevler, Amsterdam, 1990 (ISBN
O-444-98837-8) xv + 254 pp Df1235 00
Price US$120 50/
This book 1s a valuable addltlon to the wellknown series on Comprehensive Analytical Chemretry Radlonuchde XRFA has m fact during the last two decades become a method which IS used mcreasmgly for solvmg analytical problems, especially those associated with protectmg the chemlcal quality of the human environment As the authors state, the book 1s a comprehensive mstructlve descrrptlon of the basis of radlonuchde XRFA and of Its use m a variety of envlronmental applications The physlcal basis and the mstmmentatlon of the technique are treated briefly, without any depth, m two chapters, sufficient however to make the reader fanuhar with the subject The emphasts 1s defmltely on the apphcatton chapters A bit unexpectedly, m a book on analytical chemistry, the classical procedures for sampling ax, water, soil and blologlcal materials and the sample preparation for analysis are dlscussed m some length About half of the volume IS devoted to methods for the determination of trace elements m all kmds of environmental and blologlcal samples Although the mformatlon provided 1s not always up to date (the most recent references date back to the early elghtles) there 1s a wealth of data on instrumental performance, sensltlvrtles, detection lmuts, X-ray spectra, element concentrations, blanks, etc This book deserves to be recommended to analytical chenusts mexpenenced m envuonmental problems and also to environmental scientists plannmg to apply XRFA
REVIEWS
to solve their problems, as It gives readily avadable mformatlon R Dams
Dean Rood, A Practical Gurde to the Care, Mamtenance, and Troubleshootmg of Capdlary Gas Chromatographx Systems, Huthlg, Heidelberg, 1991 (ISBN 3-7785-1898-4) XIV+ 191 pp Price US$47 OO/DM78 00 A careful reading of the title will direct the reader to what to expect and what to fmd m this book It 1s auned at the novlce chromatographer or technician faced with the task of operating a modem gas chromatograph wth little background or understanding of how It really works It 1s a hardware and how to do book with the muumum of theory (there are about a dozen equations m the whole book) There are no references to the literature, which is acceptable but not necessarily a good idea m a self-contained manual of this kmd A selective bibliography would have enabled the reader to follow up some of the less obvious concepts discussed Given the emphasis on the practice of modern gas chromatography I would have ldced to have seen more Figures aldmg the descnptlon of mampulative procedures and some chromatograms showing Ideal results and poor results requlrmg correctlon There is an unfortunate number of editing mistakes m the text, usually a mlssmg word, but generally the book IS easy to read and should be comprehendable to Its intended audience Overall, this book meets its ObJectives and would be useful to have around m any gas chromatography laboratory It could be adopted as required reading to accompany mltlal trammg m an industrial laboratory It addresses the problems relevant to a laboratory professional at the begmnmg stages of his/her career, and m this respect fills an important need rarely addressed m more numerous academic treatises For the above purpose I have no dlfflculty m recommendmg this book as a worthwhile purchase Cohn F Poole
Saence
Pubhshers
B
347
V . Amsterdam
BOOK REVIEWS Cohn F Poole and Salwa K. Poole, ChromatogruAmsterdam, 1991 [ISBN O444-88492-O (hard bound), ISBN O-444-89161-7 (paperback)] x + 1026 pp Price US$147 50/Dfl 295 00 (hard bound), US$75 OO/ Dfl 15000 (paperback)
phy Today, Elsever,
This 1s an ambrtlous book Its philosophy stems from an earher work by the same authors, the highly successful Contemporary Practzce of Chromatography, but 1s a completely new work The suns are to provide both a postgraduate textbook and a source book for practlcloners of all aspects of modern chromatography There are mne chapters, each with an exhaustive list of references to the prnnary hterature A chapter on the fundamental relatlonshlps m chromatography 1s followed by four core chapters on instrumental aspects of GC and LC, separate chapters are devoted to the column m both techniques Here, there are especially good accounts on recent progress m the understandmg of the factors affecting the preparation of stable, mactlve and selective open-tubular columns for GC, and m the varlatlon of LC column propertles wth the packmg material preparation procedure One might, however, have liked more on the current tendency towards mlcropacked columns, where small volume flow-rates are advantageous m coupling to speetroscoplc detectors The account of GC detection 1s very thorough, wtth, for example, a full description of the atomic emlsslon detector Shorter chapters on first SFC and then TLC follow The former 1s a model mtroductlon to the technique, emphaslsmg its niche m contemporary separation science A longer chapter on sample preparation for chromatographlc analysis hrmgs together much mformatlon on a variety of methods of sample collection and clean-up, including supercntlcal fluid extraction Coupled chromatographic methods are covered here, with LC-GC promment The final chapter describes hyphen0003-2670/92/$05
00 0 1992 - Elsewer
Saence
Pubhshers
ation of chromatography with mass and infrared spectrometry The presentation 1s clear and readable, obwous care has been taken m selecting the Figures A camera-ready format has ensured rapid pubhcation, with many 1990 references mcluded Tlus 1s a worthy successor to the earher volume and can be strongly recommended to all chromatographers Keith D Bartle
James P Dux, Handbook of Quakty Assurance for the Analyhcal Chemwry Laboratory, 2nd edn, Van Nostrand Reinhold, New York, 1990 (ISBN O-442-23954-8) xu + 203 pp Pnce f26 00 A useful compllatlon of techniques needed to ensure the production of good quality analytlcal data and results 1s provided m this book James Dux’s approach 1s necessanly biased by lus career m the USA, but many of his observations are generally valid m other countries and under other regimes Elementary statlstlcs, control charting and sampling form three of the chapters but it 1s m the remaining ten that the mam value of the book lies It 1s here that many of the quality assurance procedures needed for a laboratory to produce data and results of consistent vahdlty and high quality are described It 1s here also that Dux 1s at his most authoritative, particularly when descnbmg documentation, laboratory procedures and facllitles However, his descnptions of laboratory personnel and mdustrlal relations is tradltlonal If not quaint The new chapter on computers and robotics concentrates mainly on the apphcatlon of LIMS systems, it does not tackle the complex questions of software and hardware vahdatlon Overall, this is a useful book for someone Just starting a laboratory quahty assurance campaign
B V All nghts reserved
BOOK
348
and a useful check-list for someone wanting to see d they have forgotten something R L Tranter
J Tolgyessy, E Havr6nek and E Depnkovi, Radlonucluie X-ray Flmrescence Anaiyszs wrth Envrronmental Apphcatwns, Volume XXVI of Wrlson and Wdson’s Comprehenstve Anaiyttcal Chemrstry, G Svehla (Ed 1, Elsevler, Amsterdam, 1990 (ISBN
O-444-98837-8) xv + 254 pp Df1235 00
Price US$120 50/
This book 1s a valuable addltlon to the wellknown series on Comprehensive Analytical Chemretry Radlonuchde XRFA has m fact during the last two decades become a method which IS used mcreasmgly for solvmg analytical problems, especially those associated with protectmg the chemlcal quality of the human environment As the authors state, the book 1s a comprehensive mstructlve descrrptlon of the basis of radlonuchde XRFA and of Its use m a variety of envlronmental applications The physlcal basis and the mstmmentatlon of the technique are treated briefly, without any depth, m two chapters, sufficient however to make the reader fanuhar with the subject The emphasts 1s defmltely on the apphcatton chapters A bit unexpectedly, m a book on analytical chemistry, the classical procedures for sampling ax, water, soil and blologlcal materials and the sample preparation for analysis are dlscussed m some length About half of the volume IS devoted to methods for the determination of trace elements m all kmds of environmental and blologlcal samples Although the mformatlon provided 1s not always up to date (the most recent references date back to the early elghtles) there 1s a wealth of data on instrumental performance, sensltlvrtles, detection lmuts, X-ray spectra, element concentrations, blanks, etc This book deserves to be recommended to analytical chenusts mexpenenced m envuonmental problems and also to environmental scientists plannmg to apply XRFA
REVIEWS
to solve their problems, as It gives readily avadable mformatlon R Dams
Dean Rood, A Practical Gurde to the Care, Mamtenance, and Troubleshootmg of Capdlary Gas Chromatographx Systems, Huthlg, Heidelberg, 1991 (ISBN 3-7785-1898-4) XIV+ 191 pp Price US$47 OO/DM78 00 A careful reading of the title will direct the reader to what to expect and what to fmd m this book It 1s auned at the novlce chromatographer or technician faced with the task of operating a modem gas chromatograph wth little background or understanding of how It really works It 1s a hardware and how to do book with the muumum of theory (there are about a dozen equations m the whole book) There are no references to the literature, which is acceptable but not necessarily a good idea m a self-contained manual of this kmd A selective bibliography would have enabled the reader to follow up some of the less obvious concepts discussed Given the emphasis on the practice of modern gas chromatography I would have ldced to have seen more Figures aldmg the descnptlon of mampulative procedures and some chromatograms showing Ideal results and poor results requlrmg correctlon There is an unfortunate number of editing mistakes m the text, usually a mlssmg word, but generally the book IS easy to read and should be comprehendable to Its intended audience Overall, this book meets its ObJectives and would be useful to have around m any gas chromatography laboratory It could be adopted as required reading to accompany mltlal trammg m an industrial laboratory It addresses the problems relevant to a laboratory professional at the begmnmg stages of his/her career, and m this respect fills an important need rarely addressed m more numerous academic treatises For the above purpose I have no dlfflculty m recommendmg this book as a worthwhile purchase Cohn F Poole