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Molecular electronics: bionsensors and biocomputers
74
immobilised enzymes or cells with mass spectrometry, the use of ellipsometry, reflectometry and related techniques for monitoring surface binding events, and the use of dry reagent chemistry, an increasingly important technique particularly in clinical chemistry. The use of fibre optics as an emerging analytical technique is also presented. The final topic which is dealt with in this section is the use of ‘flow injection analysis’ using immobilised enzyme reactors. These reactors can be combined with a variety of transducers such as amperometric indicator electrodes, electrochemical detectors, conductivity detectors and thermal detectors to give highly flexible analytical devices. Section II entitled ‘medical applications’ deals with the applications of immobilised cells and to medical problems. The first enzymes contribution in this section serves as a good general introduction to the area dealing with examples such as the use of asparaginase and other enzymes in chemotherapy, the use of immobilised enzymes in detoxification and the application of microencapsulated cell cultures in the treatment of diabetes mellitus. Aspects of extracorporeal shunt systems including the adsorption of antibodies to sepharose 6, the immunoadsorption of plasma lipoproteins to LDL-immunoadsorption gels and the immobilisation of protein A to collodion-coated charcoal are covered in the next five contributions. A comprehensive protocol is experimental documented for all the aforementioned examples. The remaining papers in this section deal with the use of immobilised enzymes in medical instrumentation, the use of enzymes in thrombolytic therapy and enzyme replacement therapy and finally, the use of microencapsulated pancreatic islet cells as an artificial pancreas. The final section of the book entitled ‘novel techniques for and aspects of immobilised enzymes and cells’ includes a number of contributions not presented in the preceding sections. Of particular note are the papers on the aspect of enzyme stabilisation in organic solvents at normal and elevated temperatures, and the stabilisation of enzymes through crosslinking and chemical modification of the amino acid backbone. Aspects of cell permeabilisation, together with its potential usefulness in facilitating in- and out-diffusion of chemicals to be biologically transformed are discussed in an interesting chapter by Felix. To conclude this
Book reviews
section, applications of immobilised enzyme/cell systems are given which include: energy conversion by immobilised photosynthetic bacteria and immobilised cytochrome P-450, the production of enzymes by immobilised cells and the use of immobilised cells and enzyme in waste water purification schemes. My overall impression of this volume was very good. The diverse nature of the sections made the book interesting and should provide a useful practical and reference source for researchers from differing fields. My only criticism, however, is that in all ofthe sections there lacked a cohesive and methodological approach to the order in which the articles were presented. This is however only a minor point and should not in any way detract from the overall excellent nature of the book both in context and presentation. A worthy addition to the Methods in Enzymology series. Marco Cardosi Cranjield Instituteof Technology, UK
Molecular Electronics: Biosensors and Biocomputers. Edited by Felix T. Hong. Plenum Press, New York, 1989. xii + 454 pp. ISBN O-30643395-8. Hardback Price: $95.
This book is a camera-ready collection of papers representing the Proceedings of the Offtce of Naval Research and the National Science Foundation Symposium with the same title, held in conjunction with The Fine Particle Society in Santa Clara, California in the summer of 1988. The editor points out that the field of molecular electronics is ‘largely the consequence of one person’s crusade, that of Forest L. Carter’. The Symposium had been planned to honour him, but sadly became a Memorial Symposium. As in any such unrefereed symposium volume, there is some variation in quality between contributions. Overall, however, this volume is of high quality and an apt memorial to this pioneering scientist. Indeed, some of the chapters are excellent, dealing with specific aspects in considerable depths. There are a total of forty contributions from about 120 coauthors, many being leaders in this exciting field. The papers are grouped into seven subject areas: fabrication of molecular assemblies, characterization of molecular assemblies, electro-
Book reviews
chemical aspects of molecular electronics, metallo-proteins and other electroactive molecules, retinal proteins and other pigment proteins, biological information processing and finally molecular device and biosensor technology. The last mentioned is the largest section with some 17 articles. There is a strong ‘bioelectronic flavour’ throughout. Examples of notable contributions include: The Forest L. Carter Lecture - organised monolayers; Building blocks in constructing supramolecular devices by H. Kuhn; Biomolecular electronic: Structure-function relationship by L. Powers; Biological photosensors; Phytochrome and stentorin; Neurons as microprocessors with a kind of memory function by G. Matsumoto and T. Iijima; Mathematical problems arising in molecular electronics; Global geometry and dynamics of the double-
75
well potential by A. F. Lawrence and R. R. Birge; Towards the molecular computer factory by M. Conrad: Optical random access memory based on bacteriorhodopsin by R. R. Birge, C. F. Zhang and A. F. Lawrence; Biomolecular interface by A. Aizawa, S. I. Yabuki and H. Shinohara; Incorporation of ion channels in polymerized membranes and fabrication of a biosensor by T. L. Fare er al. There is no doubt that for those interested in the latest developments in an extensive range of aspects of this subject covering both fundamental work and prospects for further exploitation, this is a valuable tome. It offers a good insight into contemporary thinking in this fundamentally important subject. I. J. Higgins Cranjield Institute of Technology, UK
immobilised enzymes or cells with mass spectrometry, the use of ellipsometry, reflectometry and related techniques for monitoring surface binding events, and the use of dry reagent chemistry, an increasingly important technique particularly in clinical chemistry. The use of fibre optics as an emerging analytical technique is also presented. The final topic which is dealt with in this section is the use of ‘flow injection analysis’ using immobilised enzyme reactors. These reactors can be combined with a variety of transducers such as amperometric indicator electrodes, electrochemical detectors, conductivity detectors and thermal detectors to give highly flexible analytical devices. Section II entitled ‘medical applications’ deals with the applications of immobilised cells and to medical problems. The first enzymes contribution in this section serves as a good general introduction to the area dealing with examples such as the use of asparaginase and other enzymes in chemotherapy, the use of immobilised enzymes in detoxification and the application of microencapsulated cell cultures in the treatment of diabetes mellitus. Aspects of extracorporeal shunt systems including the adsorption of antibodies to sepharose 6, the immunoadsorption of plasma lipoproteins to LDL-immunoadsorption gels and the immobilisation of protein A to collodion-coated charcoal are covered in the next five contributions. A comprehensive protocol is experimental documented for all the aforementioned examples. The remaining papers in this section deal with the use of immobilised enzymes in medical instrumentation, the use of enzymes in thrombolytic therapy and enzyme replacement therapy and finally, the use of microencapsulated pancreatic islet cells as an artificial pancreas. The final section of the book entitled ‘novel techniques for and aspects of immobilised enzymes and cells’ includes a number of contributions not presented in the preceding sections. Of particular note are the papers on the aspect of enzyme stabilisation in organic solvents at normal and elevated temperatures, and the stabilisation of enzymes through crosslinking and chemical modification of the amino acid backbone. Aspects of cell permeabilisation, together with its potential usefulness in facilitating in- and out-diffusion of chemicals to be biologically transformed are discussed in an interesting chapter by Felix. To conclude this
Book reviews
section, applications of immobilised enzyme/cell systems are given which include: energy conversion by immobilised photosynthetic bacteria and immobilised cytochrome P-450, the production of enzymes by immobilised cells and the use of immobilised cells and enzyme in waste water purification schemes. My overall impression of this volume was very good. The diverse nature of the sections made the book interesting and should provide a useful practical and reference source for researchers from differing fields. My only criticism, however, is that in all ofthe sections there lacked a cohesive and methodological approach to the order in which the articles were presented. This is however only a minor point and should not in any way detract from the overall excellent nature of the book both in context and presentation. A worthy addition to the Methods in Enzymology series. Marco Cardosi Cranjield Instituteof Technology, UK
Molecular Electronics: Biosensors and Biocomputers. Edited by Felix T. Hong. Plenum Press, New York, 1989. xii + 454 pp. ISBN O-30643395-8. Hardback Price: $95.
This book is a camera-ready collection of papers representing the Proceedings of the Offtce of Naval Research and the National Science Foundation Symposium with the same title, held in conjunction with The Fine Particle Society in Santa Clara, California in the summer of 1988. The editor points out that the field of molecular electronics is ‘largely the consequence of one person’s crusade, that of Forest L. Carter’. The Symposium had been planned to honour him, but sadly became a Memorial Symposium. As in any such unrefereed symposium volume, there is some variation in quality between contributions. Overall, however, this volume is of high quality and an apt memorial to this pioneering scientist. Indeed, some of the chapters are excellent, dealing with specific aspects in considerable depths. There are a total of forty contributions from about 120 coauthors, many being leaders in this exciting field. The papers are grouped into seven subject areas: fabrication of molecular assemblies, characterization of molecular assemblies, electro-
Book reviews
chemical aspects of molecular electronics, metallo-proteins and other electroactive molecules, retinal proteins and other pigment proteins, biological information processing and finally molecular device and biosensor technology. The last mentioned is the largest section with some 17 articles. There is a strong ‘bioelectronic flavour’ throughout. Examples of notable contributions include: The Forest L. Carter Lecture - organised monolayers; Building blocks in constructing supramolecular devices by H. Kuhn; Biomolecular electronic: Structure-function relationship by L. Powers; Biological photosensors; Phytochrome and stentorin; Neurons as microprocessors with a kind of memory function by G. Matsumoto and T. Iijima; Mathematical problems arising in molecular electronics; Global geometry and dynamics of the double-
75
well potential by A. F. Lawrence and R. R. Birge; Towards the molecular computer factory by M. Conrad: Optical random access memory based on bacteriorhodopsin by R. R. Birge, C. F. Zhang and A. F. Lawrence; Biomolecular interface by A. Aizawa, S. I. Yabuki and H. Shinohara; Incorporation of ion channels in polymerized membranes and fabrication of a biosensor by T. L. Fare er al. There is no doubt that for those interested in the latest developments in an extensive range of aspects of this subject covering both fundamental work and prospects for further exploitation, this is a valuable tome. It offers a good insight into contemporary thinking in this fundamentally important subject. I. J. Higgins Cranjield Institute of Technology, UK