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Nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy
254
Magnetic Resonance Imaging 0 Volume 2, Number 3, 1984
nuclear magnetic resonance and mention of the technique is made in a further 14. Similarly, of the 185 high quality figures, only 10 are devoted to NMR images. The book is to be recommended to any radiologist
who wishes to learn infection in the central recommended to those the appearance and problem.
NUCLEAR MAGNETIC RESONANCE PAL
C.R.C.
Press,
Boca
Reviewed
Department
about the CT appearances of nervous system, but cannot be who wish to learn more about applications of NMR to this
SPECTROSCOPY
SOHAR
Raton,
FL.
by Margaret
Price:
$285.00
A. Foster
of Biomedical Physics and Bio-Engineering University of Aberdeen, Scotland
In the preface, Professor SohGr states that he intends this set of volumes for chemists, undergraduates and young spectroscopists who wish for a broad but not too detailed view of the field of NMR spectroscopy. The material and format of the volumes limits the use of the books to such an audience. The range of discussion is very broad in Vol. 1 and 2, and Vol. 3 is devoted to a set of basic NMR spectroscopy problems. Although the coverage of basic principles is adequate and well laid out, the book gives an overall impression of being rather behind the present state of NMR spectroscopy. For example many of the illustrative spectra, particularly in Vol. 3, are of poor quality. Much of the discussion of technique in Vol.1 refers specifically to CW spectroscopy with Fourier transformed methods being given a smaller share of the available space, despite the vast predominence of FT methods in modern spectroscopy. Even a glance through the long reference lists adds to a “mid-70’s” feeling. The great majority belong to the 1960s and early 1970s. A few are from the late 1970s and only a couple come from 1980 which appears to be the literature cut-off for this set of books despite the 1983 publication date. In such a fast-moving field as NMR spectroscopy this long delay between writing and publication presents a major disadvantage. The saving grace of these volumes is the breadth of their cover and the very straight forward manner in which the material is presented, although this is frequently marred by clumsy use of English, which should have been edited by the publisher. Vol. 1 consists of two chapters. Chapter 1, entitled “Theory of NMR Spectroscopy” starts with the most basic concepts of energy levels and absorption. It proceeds rapidly through nuclear spin, Larmor precession, transition, relaxation and saturation. Chemical shift has the prominence one would, expect in a text
designed primarily for organic chemists and there are some useful data sets, e.g. the figure on page 42 detailing characteristic proton chemical shifts for a large number of functional groups. Spin coupling is also well covered. Section 1.4 introduces the quantum mechanical treatment of spectra with a description of the SchrGdinger equation and spin Hamiltonians and their application in spectrum analysis. Some parts of this section would have been improved by the use of better illustrative material. Many of the spectra are fairly poor and are often too cramped to be easily examined. Displaying the spectra superimposed on a very solid grid may help in defining relative heights and widths but is hard on the eye and the black lines of the peaks are too easily confused with the black grid lines. Chapter 2 is entitled “NMR Spectrometers, Recording Techniques, Measuring Methods.” Much of the discussion is of CW techniques and equipment and this will be of little use to anyone starting work in a modern laboratory. For those who must work older equipment there are excellent books written when this equipment was “state of the art.” The basic theory of FT technique is, however, fairly well covered but with much unnecessary reference back to CW. Despite the chapter title, there is very little discussion of equipment or data collection but the author does include description of many of the pulse sequences which are fundamental to relaxation time measurement. In general, however, there is too little discussion of the underlying mechanisms whereby these sequences achieve their effects. A short section on the application of relaxation time studies in cancer diagnosis discusses some of the early work and a very brief mention is made of NMR imaging. Vol. 2 also consists of two large chapters entitled “Proton Resonance Spectroscopy” and “The Reso-
Book Reviews
nance Spectra of Nuclei Other Than Hydrogen.” As their titles suggest, these chapters are entirely concerned with the direct application of NMR spectroscopy in elucidating chemical structure and state. The author works systematically through the conventional set of functional groups discussing bonding, shifts, etc. It is in this volume that one feels most strongly that NMR has progressed beyond the coverage of this book. Vol. 3 contains only one chapter, entitled “Structure Determination Problems.” There are over 300 pages of problems, often of a rather repetitive type, and some based on extremely poor spectra. Some of these problems could form the basis for student teaching but few workers, however keen, are likely to have patience to
NMR IMAGING-A
Addison-Wesley
255
work through such a massive set. In general this final volume is unnecessary and could have been very adequately replaced by a small number of well presented examples at appropriate places in Vol. 2. In summary, I feel that this book offers a reasonably good background to NMR spectroscopy and study of some sections would help people involved in NMR imaging to obtain a more fundamental understanding of the system with which they work. As far as techniques and applications of NMR are concerned, however, the book is very out-of-date and at the price being charged for the full set of volumes, it could prove a disappointment to a student or junior researcher who bought it.
COMPREHENSIVE
BIBLIOGRAPHY
JOZEF JAKLOVSKY. Publishing Company, London/Amsterdam Ontario/Sydney/Tokyo, Price: Reviewed by E. Zeitler, M.D.
Extensive coverage of the use of nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) from its beginning to the present formative stage of development is represented in this bibliography. It contains all English-language contributions published or reported in 1981-1982 as well as presentations made on NMR at North American and British congresses. Scientific contributions published up to 1982 reflect the preduminance of investigators in the field from the USA and UK. Some bibliographic references to 1983 work is included; however much of the most recent developments will be covered in the
and Don Mills,
companion two volumes to be published in future. In addition to the detailed listing of publications, this supplement provides abbreviations, patent information and index to organizations, persons in the field, an index by country, a subject index. NMR imaging spectroscopy applied to medical and bioanalysis (nonimaging applications), NMR bioeffects in magnetic fields, plus a glossary. Physicians, engineers, and other scientists pursuing or considering work in NMR in medicine will find this reference text a great asset.
Magnetic Resonance Imaging 0 Volume 2, Number 3, 1984
nuclear magnetic resonance and mention of the technique is made in a further 14. Similarly, of the 185 high quality figures, only 10 are devoted to NMR images. The book is to be recommended to any radiologist
who wishes to learn infection in the central recommended to those the appearance and problem.
NUCLEAR MAGNETIC RESONANCE PAL
C.R.C.
Press,
Boca
Reviewed
Department
about the CT appearances of nervous system, but cannot be who wish to learn more about applications of NMR to this
SPECTROSCOPY
SOHAR
Raton,
FL.
by Margaret
Price:
$285.00
A. Foster
of Biomedical Physics and Bio-Engineering University of Aberdeen, Scotland
In the preface, Professor SohGr states that he intends this set of volumes for chemists, undergraduates and young spectroscopists who wish for a broad but not too detailed view of the field of NMR spectroscopy. The material and format of the volumes limits the use of the books to such an audience. The range of discussion is very broad in Vol. 1 and 2, and Vol. 3 is devoted to a set of basic NMR spectroscopy problems. Although the coverage of basic principles is adequate and well laid out, the book gives an overall impression of being rather behind the present state of NMR spectroscopy. For example many of the illustrative spectra, particularly in Vol. 3, are of poor quality. Much of the discussion of technique in Vol.1 refers specifically to CW spectroscopy with Fourier transformed methods being given a smaller share of the available space, despite the vast predominence of FT methods in modern spectroscopy. Even a glance through the long reference lists adds to a “mid-70’s” feeling. The great majority belong to the 1960s and early 1970s. A few are from the late 1970s and only a couple come from 1980 which appears to be the literature cut-off for this set of books despite the 1983 publication date. In such a fast-moving field as NMR spectroscopy this long delay between writing and publication presents a major disadvantage. The saving grace of these volumes is the breadth of their cover and the very straight forward manner in which the material is presented, although this is frequently marred by clumsy use of English, which should have been edited by the publisher. Vol. 1 consists of two chapters. Chapter 1, entitled “Theory of NMR Spectroscopy” starts with the most basic concepts of energy levels and absorption. It proceeds rapidly through nuclear spin, Larmor precession, transition, relaxation and saturation. Chemical shift has the prominence one would, expect in a text
designed primarily for organic chemists and there are some useful data sets, e.g. the figure on page 42 detailing characteristic proton chemical shifts for a large number of functional groups. Spin coupling is also well covered. Section 1.4 introduces the quantum mechanical treatment of spectra with a description of the SchrGdinger equation and spin Hamiltonians and their application in spectrum analysis. Some parts of this section would have been improved by the use of better illustrative material. Many of the spectra are fairly poor and are often too cramped to be easily examined. Displaying the spectra superimposed on a very solid grid may help in defining relative heights and widths but is hard on the eye and the black lines of the peaks are too easily confused with the black grid lines. Chapter 2 is entitled “NMR Spectrometers, Recording Techniques, Measuring Methods.” Much of the discussion is of CW techniques and equipment and this will be of little use to anyone starting work in a modern laboratory. For those who must work older equipment there are excellent books written when this equipment was “state of the art.” The basic theory of FT technique is, however, fairly well covered but with much unnecessary reference back to CW. Despite the chapter title, there is very little discussion of equipment or data collection but the author does include description of many of the pulse sequences which are fundamental to relaxation time measurement. In general, however, there is too little discussion of the underlying mechanisms whereby these sequences achieve their effects. A short section on the application of relaxation time studies in cancer diagnosis discusses some of the early work and a very brief mention is made of NMR imaging. Vol. 2 also consists of two large chapters entitled “Proton Resonance Spectroscopy” and “The Reso-
Book Reviews
nance Spectra of Nuclei Other Than Hydrogen.” As their titles suggest, these chapters are entirely concerned with the direct application of NMR spectroscopy in elucidating chemical structure and state. The author works systematically through the conventional set of functional groups discussing bonding, shifts, etc. It is in this volume that one feels most strongly that NMR has progressed beyond the coverage of this book. Vol. 3 contains only one chapter, entitled “Structure Determination Problems.” There are over 300 pages of problems, often of a rather repetitive type, and some based on extremely poor spectra. Some of these problems could form the basis for student teaching but few workers, however keen, are likely to have patience to
NMR IMAGING-A
Addison-Wesley
255
work through such a massive set. In general this final volume is unnecessary and could have been very adequately replaced by a small number of well presented examples at appropriate places in Vol. 2. In summary, I feel that this book offers a reasonably good background to NMR spectroscopy and study of some sections would help people involved in NMR imaging to obtain a more fundamental understanding of the system with which they work. As far as techniques and applications of NMR are concerned, however, the book is very out-of-date and at the price being charged for the full set of volumes, it could prove a disappointment to a student or junior researcher who bought it.
COMPREHENSIVE
BIBLIOGRAPHY
JOZEF JAKLOVSKY. Publishing Company, London/Amsterdam Ontario/Sydney/Tokyo, Price: Reviewed by E. Zeitler, M.D.
Extensive coverage of the use of nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) from its beginning to the present formative stage of development is represented in this bibliography. It contains all English-language contributions published or reported in 1981-1982 as well as presentations made on NMR at North American and British congresses. Scientific contributions published up to 1982 reflect the preduminance of investigators in the field from the USA and UK. Some bibliographic references to 1983 work is included; however much of the most recent developments will be covered in the
and Don Mills,
companion two volumes to be published in future. In addition to the detailed listing of publications, this supplement provides abbreviations, patent information and index to organizations, persons in the field, an index by country, a subject index. NMR imaging spectroscopy applied to medical and bioanalysis (nonimaging applications), NMR bioeffects in magnetic fields, plus a glossary. Physicians, engineers, and other scientists pursuing or considering work in NMR in medicine will find this reference text a great asset.