Books
Almost Human?
Intelligent Software for Chemical Analysis Lutgarde M. C. Buydens and Peter J. Schoenmakers, Eds. Elsevier Science Publishers 655 Ave. of the Americas New York, NY 10010
1993, 347 pp., $200 As they state in the preface, the authors of this text have tried to demonstrate the applicability of "intelligent software" in the realm of analytical chemistry and to provide readers with sufficiently detailed information to pursue their own projects. Through a combination of theory and case studies, the authors have been largely successful in accomplishing their goals. The first chapter presents a discussion of the status of automation in analytical laboratories and an introduction to the types of software (expert systems, neural networks, and genetic algorithms) described elsewhere in the book. Schoenmakers provides an overview of several existing artificial intelligence (AI) systems in Chapter 2. These examples illustrate the wide range of applications for expert system technology offered within the analytical laboratory. In Chapter 3 Hans van Leeuwen details the stages involved in the development of expert systems. This chapter suggests some well-founded approaches and problem areas to be considered when developing AI systems. In Chapter 4 Buydens, van Leeuwen, and Ron Wehrens provide a comprehensive literature review of expert system development tools, including AI programming languages such as PROLOG and LISP, expert system shells, and knowl416 A
edge acquisition tools. A number of tables list commercially available development tools along with sources and their underlying concepts. Four case studies are presented by Frans Maris and Rik Hindriks in Chapter 5. Each expert system involves a different aspect of HPLC method development. These case studies are used to describe how expert systems are appraised by their developers and how they are evaluated by users. Analytical chemists might consider how they can apply expert system technology to the analytical method development challenges they face.
This book provides readers with enough information to pursue their own projects. Wehrens describes various adaptive properties of expert systems in Chapter 6. This chapter illustrates how truly intelligent software should cope in a changing environment in which the knowledge base may require modification. This necessity is demonstrated by the need for expert systems to adapt when applied in similar yet slightly different laboratories. In Chapter 7 Wehrens and Buydens describe inductive expert systems. They explain how expert systems might construct their own knowledge base by examining sets of example cases, and they describe the commonly used ID3 algorithm. In Chapter 8 Gerrit Kateman explores the newest aspects of expert system development—genetic algorithms and neural networks. Genetic algorithms apply no heuristic knowledge, but they extract their own rule base from random searches among numerous examples. Neural networks mimic the brain's organizational
Analytical Chemistry, Vol. 66, No. 7, April 1, 1994
structure with interconnected "neurons" that are trained to perform tasks. The use of summary statements preceding each chapter, concluding sections, and extensive bibliographies make the text easy to read. The case studies make this book a particularly good introduction to expert systems. Reviewed by Stephen Davies, Ontario Ministry of the Environment and Energy, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
The New Drug Purity
Drug Stereochemistry: Analytical Methods and Pharmacology, 2nd ed. Irving W. Wainer, Ed. Marcel Dekker 270 Madison Ave. New York, NY 10158 1993, 432 pp., $165
In its early development, chiral chromatography was driven by analytical challenge and academic interest, as reflected by many early publications and monographs on the subject. As chiral chromatography has matured into a discipline, however, the scope of analytical application has rapidly expanded into other major fields of the natural sciences. With the arrival of chiral analytical techniques, drug stereochemistry has commanded new interest. The practice of pharmaceutical science has been forever changed with the discovery of the metabolic and pharmacological differences between enantiomers of chiral drugs. This expanded second edition is a
