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Methods of Vitamin Assay. 2nd ed. Prepared and Edited by the Association of Vitamin Chemists, Inc. Interscience Publishers, Inc., New York, 1951. xviii + 301 pp. 16 × 23.7 cm. Price $5.50
418
JOURNAL OF THE
AMERICAN PHARMACEUTICAL ASSOCIATION
includes new monographs, and revisions of existing monographs, arranged alphabetically under the respective titles of those involved. Many additions and changes in the appendixes of the British Pharmacopoeia are also provided. Some of the changes in the British Pharmacopoeia made by this Addendum are in the field of antibiotics. The monographs on penicillin and dosage forms of penicillin have been revised and new monographs added on benzylpenicillin, procaine benzylpenicillin, three salts of streptomycin, dihydrostreptomycin. and chloramphenicol. The monographs on antitoxins, bacterial vaccines, and toxins have undergone quite extensive revisions and monographs have been added on a number of antihistaminic drugs, organic arsenical compounds, and sulfonamides. A group of preparations and materials derived from human blood has been included in a special section of the Addendum. Directions for the preparation of sterile solutions and suspensions for parenteral injections have been revised. Single-dose containers of injections must, according to new requirements, contain a specified volume in excess of the labeled volume. Procedures for the spectrophotometric method of assay for vitamin A are now recognized and new standard preparations for vitamin A and vitamin D are required in the assay outlined in the appendix. The British Pharmacopoeia Commission in preparing the 1951 Addendum has maintained the high standard of performance exemplified in the British Pharmacopoeia 1948. Everyone in the United States who has a copy of the latest British Pharmacopoeia will certainly want to acquire a copy of the 1951 Addendum,
Methods of Vitumin Assay. 2nd ed. Prepared and edited by the Association of Vitamin Chemists, Inc. Interscience Publishers, Inc., New York, 1951. xvii 301 pp. 16 x 23.7 em. Price $5.50. The second edition of this book, like the first, has been prepared by committees of the Association of Vitamin Chemists, Inc, with the cooperation of individual members and outside authors. The first edition, published in 1947, was well received and it is predicted that the second edition, with revised methods for vitamin assays and the inclusion of pertinent information from the current literature, will appeal strongly to biochemists, physicians, pharmacologists, and pharmaceutical chemists, particularly in the chemical, pharmaceutical, cosmctic, food, and related industries where vitamin analyses and assays are routinely or occasionally required. In addition t o having been conlpletcly revised, the book now includes assays for pantothenic acid, pyridoxine, folic acid, biotin, vitamin Bn, and niacin. The revision has been so extensive that the size of the book has been increased by more than one-half. The work is presented in 15 chapters, of which 12 relate to twelve individual vitamins, one t o sampling, one to methods for determination of vitamins D, E, K, p-aminobenzoic acid, inositol, and choline, and a fifteenth chapter t o the use of check samples in control of vitamin assay methods. The book is well documented with many references at the end of each chapter and is provided with a thoroughly satisfactory index. The binding and printing are of good quality.
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Vol. XL, No. 8
Optical Crystallography. 2nd ed. By ERNESTE. WAHLSTROM.John Wiley & Sons, Inc., New York, 1951. vii 247 pp. Illustrated. 15.5 x 23.5 cm. Price $4.50. This second edition of Optical Crystallography has been completely revised and expanded by approximately 50 pages. It reviews quite fully the principles of optical crystallographic theory. The immersion method of determining optical properties of crystals and fragments is particularly emphasized. The work definitely is not a handbook of the practical applications of crystallography. The author has apparently written the book with the idea in mind that once the student has firmly grasped the fundamental concepts of the subjects, he will then be able to cope with any problem in the field he is likely to encounter. An outstanding feature of the book is a thorough explanation of the construction and manipulation of polarizing microscopes and accessories. Mathemathical derivations throughout the book have been limited, but sufficient have been included to supply information actually needed. The new second edition of Professor Wahlstrom’s book on optical crystallography includes a n appendix containing a brief review of the universal stage method, many new illustrations, and a greatly expanded and modernized list of references. The author, a consulting geologist and mineralogist as well as a teacher, has presented what appears to be sufficient basic information on crystallography to enable a student of the subject to acquire a suficient understanding to apply it t o practical problems such as those encountered in the analysis or identification of crystalline medicinal chemicals and other crystalline substances.
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4ctive Carbon. By JOHN W. HASSLER. Chemical Publishing Co., Inc., Brooklyn, 1951. vi 384 pp. 14.5 x 23.5 cm. Price $7. This is a valuable book for industrial workers whose procedures require frequent use of active carbon, and for the investigator who wonders how he can utilize the bottle of active carbon on his shelf. The author’s interesting historical I eview cites the use of charcoal in medicine recorded in a n Egyptian papyrus from 1550 B. c.., then skips to the earliest recorded application of charcoal’s adsorptive power for gases by the apothecary Scheele in 1773. Source materials for active charcoal and processes for its preparation are discussed. The bibliography at the end of this chapter includes many references t o the patent literature. A bibliography is given at the end of each of the 34 chapters, and the book has a good index. The book is well written, with tabulations of important data where this is desirable. It appears that carbon with varying decolorizing power was used in the process for preparing the paper used in the printing of the book. There are large sections in which the pages vary from off-white t o cream or buff colors. This in no way detracts from the value of the information the pages hold. The chapter on biochemical preparations describes the role of active carbon in the preparation of penicillin, streptomycin, invertase, vitamin-bearing oils, vitamins A, C, D, G, and H, the antineuritic factor (thiamine) from yeast, folic acid from spinach, liver extract, the alcohol-ether precipitate factor from
+
JOURNAL OF THE
AMERICAN PHARMACEUTICAL ASSOCIATION
includes new monographs, and revisions of existing monographs, arranged alphabetically under the respective titles of those involved. Many additions and changes in the appendixes of the British Pharmacopoeia are also provided. Some of the changes in the British Pharmacopoeia made by this Addendum are in the field of antibiotics. The monographs on penicillin and dosage forms of penicillin have been revised and new monographs added on benzylpenicillin, procaine benzylpenicillin, three salts of streptomycin, dihydrostreptomycin. and chloramphenicol. The monographs on antitoxins, bacterial vaccines, and toxins have undergone quite extensive revisions and monographs have been added on a number of antihistaminic drugs, organic arsenical compounds, and sulfonamides. A group of preparations and materials derived from human blood has been included in a special section of the Addendum. Directions for the preparation of sterile solutions and suspensions for parenteral injections have been revised. Single-dose containers of injections must, according to new requirements, contain a specified volume in excess of the labeled volume. Procedures for the spectrophotometric method of assay for vitamin A are now recognized and new standard preparations for vitamin A and vitamin D are required in the assay outlined in the appendix. The British Pharmacopoeia Commission in preparing the 1951 Addendum has maintained the high standard of performance exemplified in the British Pharmacopoeia 1948. Everyone in the United States who has a copy of the latest British Pharmacopoeia will certainly want to acquire a copy of the 1951 Addendum,
Methods of Vitumin Assay. 2nd ed. Prepared and edited by the Association of Vitamin Chemists, Inc. Interscience Publishers, Inc., New York, 1951. xvii 301 pp. 16 x 23.7 em. Price $5.50. The second edition of this book, like the first, has been prepared by committees of the Association of Vitamin Chemists, Inc, with the cooperation of individual members and outside authors. The first edition, published in 1947, was well received and it is predicted that the second edition, with revised methods for vitamin assays and the inclusion of pertinent information from the current literature, will appeal strongly to biochemists, physicians, pharmacologists, and pharmaceutical chemists, particularly in the chemical, pharmaceutical, cosmctic, food, and related industries where vitamin analyses and assays are routinely or occasionally required. In addition t o having been conlpletcly revised, the book now includes assays for pantothenic acid, pyridoxine, folic acid, biotin, vitamin Bn, and niacin. The revision has been so extensive that the size of the book has been increased by more than one-half. The work is presented in 15 chapters, of which 12 relate to twelve individual vitamins, one t o sampling, one to methods for determination of vitamins D, E, K, p-aminobenzoic acid, inositol, and choline, and a fifteenth chapter t o the use of check samples in control of vitamin assay methods. The book is well documented with many references at the end of each chapter and is provided with a thoroughly satisfactory index. The binding and printing are of good quality.
+
Vol. XL, No. 8
Optical Crystallography. 2nd ed. By ERNESTE. WAHLSTROM.John Wiley & Sons, Inc., New York, 1951. vii 247 pp. Illustrated. 15.5 x 23.5 cm. Price $4.50. This second edition of Optical Crystallography has been completely revised and expanded by approximately 50 pages. It reviews quite fully the principles of optical crystallographic theory. The immersion method of determining optical properties of crystals and fragments is particularly emphasized. The work definitely is not a handbook of the practical applications of crystallography. The author has apparently written the book with the idea in mind that once the student has firmly grasped the fundamental concepts of the subjects, he will then be able to cope with any problem in the field he is likely to encounter. An outstanding feature of the book is a thorough explanation of the construction and manipulation of polarizing microscopes and accessories. Mathemathical derivations throughout the book have been limited, but sufficient have been included to supply information actually needed. The new second edition of Professor Wahlstrom’s book on optical crystallography includes a n appendix containing a brief review of the universal stage method, many new illustrations, and a greatly expanded and modernized list of references. The author, a consulting geologist and mineralogist as well as a teacher, has presented what appears to be sufficient basic information on crystallography to enable a student of the subject to acquire a suficient understanding to apply it t o practical problems such as those encountered in the analysis or identification of crystalline medicinal chemicals and other crystalline substances.
+
4ctive Carbon. By JOHN W. HASSLER. Chemical Publishing Co., Inc., Brooklyn, 1951. vi 384 pp. 14.5 x 23.5 cm. Price $7. This is a valuable book for industrial workers whose procedures require frequent use of active carbon, and for the investigator who wonders how he can utilize the bottle of active carbon on his shelf. The author’s interesting historical I eview cites the use of charcoal in medicine recorded in a n Egyptian papyrus from 1550 B. c.., then skips to the earliest recorded application of charcoal’s adsorptive power for gases by the apothecary Scheele in 1773. Source materials for active charcoal and processes for its preparation are discussed. The bibliography at the end of this chapter includes many references t o the patent literature. A bibliography is given at the end of each of the 34 chapters, and the book has a good index. The book is well written, with tabulations of important data where this is desirable. It appears that carbon with varying decolorizing power was used in the process for preparing the paper used in the printing of the book. There are large sections in which the pages vary from off-white t o cream or buff colors. This in no way detracts from the value of the information the pages hold. The chapter on biochemical preparations describes the role of active carbon in the preparation of penicillin, streptomycin, invertase, vitamin-bearing oils, vitamins A, C, D, G, and H, the antineuritic factor (thiamine) from yeast, folic acid from spinach, liver extract, the alcohol-ether precipitate factor from
+