Theoretical Biochemistry. Physico-Chemical Principies of Vital Processes. By II..ixa SK . John Wilep and SOJIS, T i i r . , New York, S . T. 1970. X 928 pp. 26.3 X 17.3 r i i i . $39.50. Nost textbooks of biocheniiht ry t~niphasiae the iiitricate organic chemical aspects of the .iitijec.t sinre progress in organic chemistry has been largely itspotisible for thr ideiitificat,ion i l l depth of the structure a i d niodr o f wtioii i i f k~iochemicais. The vibraiit and exciting beaiit >' of t)ioc,heriiistrj-, derived from its organic chemical basis, h:ts had proftriiiid repercussions on genetic thinking aiid hw taught i i h t he ceiitrifugal diversificatioii of biochemical structures and recictioiis at different levels of cellular organization. Throrighc~iit * i r h stiitiies we w e Coiiscious of the erivironnient of biochemic:rk titici of t h e iiiultmiplic:ity of their conipeting reactions. The rate of s i i c h reactions is coiiditioned by many factors which form the physicochemical basis of any reaction but are complimted h\. the biovhernical milieu. ASIost texts treat these factors thoroiighl>, anti in proper perspertive to the other facets of the subject. The it large book concentrateb on physical chemical st d i e - aiid iii biochheniistry at the espense of other contributioiis t o th Most students ent,ering biochemi.stry do not have :iii :~tleqiiatc background in physical chemistry or niitt1ieniatic.s. Xetter's hook gives the elements of physical laws and retxtioiii needed fur the understanding of t)iochemicitl coniplicatiuiis encountered iii high-molecular weight cornpounds and the aqueoiis colloidal .setting of cells and tis.sues. Explariatioiis raiige from qriaritum mechanical discussions of tBheatoms and virlence b o d s t o the striict,iire of water, the iiature of electrolytes, problems of diffiihioii i i i i d the behavior of cornpounds at interfaces, t o the physic~:il -t r u c t w e and react)ivity of prokiiis and nucleic acids. T h t a -ec:riiid half of the book, ent,itletl l.)ynainii*h,contains exteiisivc, vhapt ers on kinetics, the physical chemistry uf biologid uxitht ioiis, energy productioii and utilization, mechanisms of phJt I 13yrithesI3, the physics of muscle contraction, and energy trariport. Here the mttheinatics is by no means elementary, : t i i d iiitelligent reading of these sections requires :t profound t mining i n advanced calculu?. The author has been a biochemist siiice 19% in Kid, C;erniaii>'. IIe first published this book in 1939, and the present Erigliah d i t h constitutes ~i revised t,ranslatiori. How far this revisioii 1i:ts gone, or rather how little it has achieved, may be seeii frorii Ihv bibliography: almost all the references end i i i the I n t r l!I,X)'s, and only a handful of theni extend into the earl rt i* lhus safe to state that the book represeiits the yhys of biochemistry of 10-12 years ago. lloreovrr, many .4niericitii :trithors, including Xobel Prize winning biochemistj, :ire riot even int,nt,ioned once, and the work of other,- is reviewed oiily iip tii I O t j Y . KO doubt t,his book pictures the classical physicocheniiid approach to biochemistry which existed in the post-World iV%r I1 days. Those who want to learii about 1970 prubleni> i i i the field will find littk comfort, in its f:tct,ual anti dry pages. ~
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I ; N I v I m s l T Y OF V I R t i I S 1 . l
Annual Review of Pharmacology. 17dunie 10. Edited by 11. W. ELLIOTT..4nii1ial Reviews, In(*., Palo *Alto, Califoriiia. 1970. vii 505 pp. I6 X 23 cm. 110.00.
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T h e 10th annual vulunie of this review series will again capture the interest of our readers. I t is aii authoritative source of t,he basis of the relationships of drug molecules, and the practical execution of biological test procedures which guide drug design.
Peptides : Chemistry and Biochemistry. Edited tiy 1hJJlri L J 7 ~ ~ ~ s ~atid r I S.II:I, : ~ s I, DE. Marcel Ilekker, S e w York, X.Y. 1970. sv 3:$Y pp. .5 X 10 em. $19.-50.
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\vi& ii5.e ui t,he xiiiitio acid aiialyLei. lias autoinated rriiicli t,hr stritctriwelttcidaticiii of peptides arid placed the dediictiriti of aiiiitio acid seqiieuves i n the hands of skilled technical persoiiiiel. 'I'tte iiic:re:tsing application of the solid phase peptide syii'I'ilt,
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thesis niay lead to :in arialogous situation iti the long run, t i l i t the iiiiricacies of groiip prutectioii, deprotection, mairiteriniicr of optical iiitegrity, a11 ther pitfalls of peptide synthesis havt: iiot yet txeii iruned out leqiiately for such a muve. The preseiit btlUk pl'eSC!lltS a CY a1 survey of methods and difficulties ( i f peptide synthesis, :w a documented outgrocrTth of a sympi)siurii held iri 1968. This accumulated experience of the coiitribut80r> sho~ildherve well to i.uiify the field and draw other> int.o it, whir st ill pegard pept.ide chemistry as a strange brniich of organic clieiiiist1.y. Inwspersed with dihciis4ons of pept,ide syritIieai5 are 7 p:tl)ei.relatitrg peptide st r i w t i i r e l o biolugical iuttivity. 7'11~ raisiriis d'bt re of peptide >yiithesis are the confirniatioit of pel~titlestriiriiire, ttrrivetl : i t tletiiic4vely, the joy of siich : i l l intcllectjii:il actiirviiiiit,iit,,atid tht. csscitiiig possibility of improviiig upriti mipeutic application. Thi iilly it1 some instances, ar iess (~i'riati.rre where the criiie peptide hormories is concerned. .2 hect,ioii of the lxiok tie& with st,ructural sttitlie? of icyclic, other specid problems such as steric C O i l t l ' i J l c.f allergetiicity of some peiiicilliii 1xilypeptitlc.-, d act,iiioinycin U. Thus both the espcrt ill stry, thc~irietlicirial chemist, aiid thr iiatiii.:tl j)roiItccts vheniist will f i i d riiiich of iiit,erest iri these paged. ' h e v111iiiiit;lias l ~ e e iprepared i by a phot.o-offset pr~redrirci m i i typtwript, : i t i d (lues iiot, meet the criteria of a pritited bouli. ITiiiiiogeiieity of tlie l r s t arid consistelicy o f rlo~nenchture :tri' fair but not perfw~i. Severtheless, tile editors have tried hart1 to dfer the lendei, :i nioi tograph rather thau a collection of paper-.
.IL F l l i.:u Ijiiiveruity of V i q i I ii;l Charlottesville, Virgiiiis
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