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Introduction to modern vibrational spectroscopy
362
Book Reuiews
the basic theory of liquid chromatography. The middle part of the book is devoted to the hardware, such as pumps and detectors. The last three chapters are directed to practical applications of liquid chromatography and sample preparation. The examples vary from typical trace-analytical work such as pesticide residue analysis and biomedical applications to the characterisation of polymers. Unfortunately the fast developing field of interfacing liquid chromatography with mass spectrometry is not covered. Apart from this omission the text is quite comprehensive. This book can be extremely useful for analysts who are beginners in the field of liquid chromatography. For experienced users of liquid chromatography nothing new is offered. P. van Zoonen
reviews. I gained the impression from the book that SFC was considered only as a qualitative tool for analysis as there was an absence of discussion on precision, accuracy, robustness, etc. The final chapter (Lynch) gives some pointers for future developments in both theory and practice and makes interesting reading. He notes, somewhat ruefully I suspect, that “Unfortunately, as in many other areas of science, analytical chemists have a great tendency to “jump on the bandwagon“ when a new technique comes along before they really understand how it works. ’ ’ A short general index and an index to compounds complete the work. Overall I found the book useful as an introduction to the topic as well as a source of reference to the literature. C. Burgess
J.R. Dean (Ed.), Applications of Supercritical Fluids in Industrial Analysis, Blackie, London, 1994 (ISBN o-7514-0057-2). xiv + 224 pp. Price & 65.00.
Max Diem, Introduction to Modern Vibrational Spectroscopy, Wiley, New York, 1993 (ISBN 0-47159584-5). xiii + 285 pp. Price f49.50.
This multi-author work reviews the development and current state of supercritical fluid applications to chromatography (SFC) and extraction (SFE) in analytical chemistry. The development of these techniques over the past 15 years has been encouraged by the attractiveness of liquid carbon dioxide as being a supercritical fluid which has critical parameters within the capabilities of reasonable instrumentation, low toxicity, obtainable in a high state of purity and cheapness. Chapter 1 (Hitchen and Dean) gives an introduction to the properties of supercritical fluids. Greibrokk reviews the instrumentation requirements for SFC (pumps, injectors, columns, restrictors and detectors) for both home made and commercial instrumentation in Chapter 2. Sample introduction and sample/solute effects are discussed also. The chapter is well referenced to the original literature. In the following chapter, Dean and Kane cover the same topics for SFE. The next four chapters are devoted to application reviews of SFC and SFE to pharmaceuticals (Wilson, Davis and Ruane), polymer analysis (Knowles and Hoge), food science (Dean) and environmental analysis (Janda, Bartle and Clifford). The pharmaceutical applications were disappointingly illustrated in contrast to the other
This is a very helpful text for biochemists interested in the application of vibrational techniques to the study of biological molecules. The nine chapters of the book introduce the theoretical background necessary for understanding the principles of vibrational spectroscopy, taking into consideration the basic ideas of quantum chemistry and modern computational methods. Also, practical aspects concerning instrumentation, Raman spectroscopy and detailed examples for the interpretation of vibrational spectra, are included. Unfortunately some relevant aspects of modern vibrational techniques, such as surface enhanced Raman spectrometry or the use of the Hadamard transform are not treated in detail, probably due to the necessity to select the most appropriate material for the study of biomolecules. Two of the most original contributions of the book concern the biophysical applications of vibrational spectroscopy and vibrational optical activity. The 30-page chapter about the study of biomolecules is a systematic and well written text which includes an interesting reference to the resonance Raman spectroscopy of prosthetic groups. Chapter 9 is devoted to the use of circularly polarized light in
Book Reviews
vibrational spectroscopy and contains very useful information about vibrational circular dichroism and Raman optical activity and their application to the study of biomolecules. The only criticism which can be addressed to this interesting book is the qualitative point of view adopted by the author who has neglected the tremendous possibilities of modern vibrational methods for quantitative analysis. Miguel de la Guardia
D. Barcelo (Ed.), Environmental Analysis - Techniques, Applications and Quality Assurance, Elsevier, Amsterdam, 1993 (ISBN O-444-89648-1). 658 pp. price Dfl. 465.OO/US$ 265.75. One’s first impression on seeing the title of this book is that the potential subject matter is so wide that coverage is going to be superficial. Further inspection shows that this is not the case and that in fact the Editor has managed to cover a judicious range of material in considerable depth although it was clearly a conscious decision to focus on the application of analytical techniques to the determination of organic compounds in environmental matrices. The book is intended as a general reference for postgraduate students and as a practical reference for environmental and analytical chemists. In my opinion the contents of this book admirably achieve both objectives. The contents are divided into four major sections field sampling techniques and sample covering; preparation; application areas; quality assurance and reference materials; and emerging techniques. The attention to detail in the sections on sampling and sample preparation and quality assurance and reference materials provides valuable practical information that is often overlooked. This provides a solid platform from which to discuss application areas and emerging techniques. There are 17 self contained chapters that are all written by recognised experts in their specialised fields and this gives the book an authoritative perspective on the subject. Presentation in terms of layout, figures and tables and references shows a consistent approach throughout with most
363
contributions having a comprehensive reference list from the recent primary literature. As an example of the subject matter covered, the emerging techniques section has chapters on fluorescence techniques for PAH analysis, desorption ionization methods for surfactants in waters, LC-MS interfacing for polar pesticide analysis, hyphenated techniques for the speciation of organometallic compounds in water and the potential of capillary electrophoresis in environmental analysis. This book, therefore, is highly recommended to researchers involved in environmental analytical chemistry, and especially those with an interest in trace organic analysis. Sound analytical measurements provide the cornerstone for understanding the impact of pollutants on the environment and are the basis for much environmental legislation. Historically the quality of some environmental analytical data has been questionable and this book should help to promote good practice by those who are, or will be, actively involved in the area. Paul J. Worsfold
J.W. Robinson, Undergraduate Instrumental Analysis, 5th edn., Marcel Dekker, New York, 1994 (ISBN O-8247-9215-7) 872 pp. Price US$ 65.00. This book covers most of the instrumental techniques that one would expect in an undergraduate text. Its particular strength is that, whilst maintaining a very readable style, it goes into slightly greater detail than many such books. This increased coverage is directed towards discussing the particular applications of the technique and the interpretation of results, rather than just describing in great detail a long list of esoteric’ gadgets. In the chapter on mass spectrometry, for example, the basic approach to the interpretation of spectra is described. Throughout the book copious example spectra are to be found and simple experiments are suggested which can be employed to explore each technique. The book is not without problems, however, and some of this concern is over the emphasis placed on topics. Taking the chromatography section as an example, the author uses gas chromatography to describe the chromatographic process and then leads
Book Reuiews
the basic theory of liquid chromatography. The middle part of the book is devoted to the hardware, such as pumps and detectors. The last three chapters are directed to practical applications of liquid chromatography and sample preparation. The examples vary from typical trace-analytical work such as pesticide residue analysis and biomedical applications to the characterisation of polymers. Unfortunately the fast developing field of interfacing liquid chromatography with mass spectrometry is not covered. Apart from this omission the text is quite comprehensive. This book can be extremely useful for analysts who are beginners in the field of liquid chromatography. For experienced users of liquid chromatography nothing new is offered. P. van Zoonen
reviews. I gained the impression from the book that SFC was considered only as a qualitative tool for analysis as there was an absence of discussion on precision, accuracy, robustness, etc. The final chapter (Lynch) gives some pointers for future developments in both theory and practice and makes interesting reading. He notes, somewhat ruefully I suspect, that “Unfortunately, as in many other areas of science, analytical chemists have a great tendency to “jump on the bandwagon“ when a new technique comes along before they really understand how it works. ’ ’ A short general index and an index to compounds complete the work. Overall I found the book useful as an introduction to the topic as well as a source of reference to the literature. C. Burgess
J.R. Dean (Ed.), Applications of Supercritical Fluids in Industrial Analysis, Blackie, London, 1994 (ISBN o-7514-0057-2). xiv + 224 pp. Price & 65.00.
Max Diem, Introduction to Modern Vibrational Spectroscopy, Wiley, New York, 1993 (ISBN 0-47159584-5). xiii + 285 pp. Price f49.50.
This multi-author work reviews the development and current state of supercritical fluid applications to chromatography (SFC) and extraction (SFE) in analytical chemistry. The development of these techniques over the past 15 years has been encouraged by the attractiveness of liquid carbon dioxide as being a supercritical fluid which has critical parameters within the capabilities of reasonable instrumentation, low toxicity, obtainable in a high state of purity and cheapness. Chapter 1 (Hitchen and Dean) gives an introduction to the properties of supercritical fluids. Greibrokk reviews the instrumentation requirements for SFC (pumps, injectors, columns, restrictors and detectors) for both home made and commercial instrumentation in Chapter 2. Sample introduction and sample/solute effects are discussed also. The chapter is well referenced to the original literature. In the following chapter, Dean and Kane cover the same topics for SFE. The next four chapters are devoted to application reviews of SFC and SFE to pharmaceuticals (Wilson, Davis and Ruane), polymer analysis (Knowles and Hoge), food science (Dean) and environmental analysis (Janda, Bartle and Clifford). The pharmaceutical applications were disappointingly illustrated in contrast to the other
This is a very helpful text for biochemists interested in the application of vibrational techniques to the study of biological molecules. The nine chapters of the book introduce the theoretical background necessary for understanding the principles of vibrational spectroscopy, taking into consideration the basic ideas of quantum chemistry and modern computational methods. Also, practical aspects concerning instrumentation, Raman spectroscopy and detailed examples for the interpretation of vibrational spectra, are included. Unfortunately some relevant aspects of modern vibrational techniques, such as surface enhanced Raman spectrometry or the use of the Hadamard transform are not treated in detail, probably due to the necessity to select the most appropriate material for the study of biomolecules. Two of the most original contributions of the book concern the biophysical applications of vibrational spectroscopy and vibrational optical activity. The 30-page chapter about the study of biomolecules is a systematic and well written text which includes an interesting reference to the resonance Raman spectroscopy of prosthetic groups. Chapter 9 is devoted to the use of circularly polarized light in
Book Reviews
vibrational spectroscopy and contains very useful information about vibrational circular dichroism and Raman optical activity and their application to the study of biomolecules. The only criticism which can be addressed to this interesting book is the qualitative point of view adopted by the author who has neglected the tremendous possibilities of modern vibrational methods for quantitative analysis. Miguel de la Guardia
D. Barcelo (Ed.), Environmental Analysis - Techniques, Applications and Quality Assurance, Elsevier, Amsterdam, 1993 (ISBN O-444-89648-1). 658 pp. price Dfl. 465.OO/US$ 265.75. One’s first impression on seeing the title of this book is that the potential subject matter is so wide that coverage is going to be superficial. Further inspection shows that this is not the case and that in fact the Editor has managed to cover a judicious range of material in considerable depth although it was clearly a conscious decision to focus on the application of analytical techniques to the determination of organic compounds in environmental matrices. The book is intended as a general reference for postgraduate students and as a practical reference for environmental and analytical chemists. In my opinion the contents of this book admirably achieve both objectives. The contents are divided into four major sections field sampling techniques and sample covering; preparation; application areas; quality assurance and reference materials; and emerging techniques. The attention to detail in the sections on sampling and sample preparation and quality assurance and reference materials provides valuable practical information that is often overlooked. This provides a solid platform from which to discuss application areas and emerging techniques. There are 17 self contained chapters that are all written by recognised experts in their specialised fields and this gives the book an authoritative perspective on the subject. Presentation in terms of layout, figures and tables and references shows a consistent approach throughout with most
363
contributions having a comprehensive reference list from the recent primary literature. As an example of the subject matter covered, the emerging techniques section has chapters on fluorescence techniques for PAH analysis, desorption ionization methods for surfactants in waters, LC-MS interfacing for polar pesticide analysis, hyphenated techniques for the speciation of organometallic compounds in water and the potential of capillary electrophoresis in environmental analysis. This book, therefore, is highly recommended to researchers involved in environmental analytical chemistry, and especially those with an interest in trace organic analysis. Sound analytical measurements provide the cornerstone for understanding the impact of pollutants on the environment and are the basis for much environmental legislation. Historically the quality of some environmental analytical data has been questionable and this book should help to promote good practice by those who are, or will be, actively involved in the area. Paul J. Worsfold
J.W. Robinson, Undergraduate Instrumental Analysis, 5th edn., Marcel Dekker, New York, 1994 (ISBN O-8247-9215-7) 872 pp. Price US$ 65.00. This book covers most of the instrumental techniques that one would expect in an undergraduate text. Its particular strength is that, whilst maintaining a very readable style, it goes into slightly greater detail than many such books. This increased coverage is directed towards discussing the particular applications of the technique and the interpretation of results, rather than just describing in great detail a long list of esoteric’ gadgets. In the chapter on mass spectrometry, for example, the basic approach to the interpretation of spectra is described. Throughout the book copious example spectra are to be found and simple experiments are suggested which can be employed to explore each technique. The book is not without problems, however, and some of this concern is over the emphasis placed on topics. Taking the chromatography section as an example, the author uses gas chromatography to describe the chromatographic process and then leads