BIOCHEMICAL PREPARATIONS VOLUME 5 Edited by Dovid Shemin, Professor, College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia Univeraitv. John Wilev & Sons. Inc., New York, i957. IX '115 pp: 15.5 X 23.5 cm. $4.75.
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THE fifth volume of "Biochemical Preparations" appears t,o he a carefully edited continuation of this series. The object of these annual volumes is to
provide a collection of verified preparations for the use of biochemical research workers and for the training of students in biochemistry. While the first objective is admirably realized in Volume 5, the book does not optimally fulfill the second aim, possibly because of the dearth of contributions. Of the 21 preparative procedures, over two-thirds involve t h e use of routine methods of organic chemistry, and only the remaining one-third employs some variety of biochemical methodology. Essentially organic chemical methods are involved in the synthesis of dibenayl phosphorochloridrrte, phosphatidyl ethmalmhe, sodium phosphoereatine, D-plycerie acid-%phosphate, S-suecinyl
coenzyme A, adenine-bC14, %deoxyurihose, D- and hglutamines, homocystinc and homoeystrine, "-, L-, and DL-forms of Shenzylhomocysteine, imidazoleacetic acid hydrochloride and the formimino derivatives of glycine, I.aspartic and kglutamic acids. Typical biochemical proredores me used far the preparation of aldolase, crystalline condensing enzyme, cytochromr C, S a d m o svlmethionine, nieotinamide mononurleotide, and the separation of 5'-deoxyrihonucleotides and the nucleotides of rihonucleie acid. Considerable overlap was noted with similar prepmations in the recently published "Method8 of Enzymology, Volumes 1-111." Particularilv commendeble in this voltnne are the many informative f a o t n o t ~ s provided by the checkers of each preparation, and the oompilation of compounds of biochemical interest which have appeared in the alder "Orgnnir Synthesi~"series. ~
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PROGRESS IN ORGANIC CHEMISTRY. VOLUME 4 Edited by I. W. Cook, Vice-chancellor, University of Exeter. Academic Press Inc., New York. 1958 ix 256 pp. 15.5 X 25 cm; $8.50.
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THIS is the fourth volume edited hy
J. W. Cook in the series on "Progress in Organic Chemistry." I>eswiptions of rerent developments in n numbcr of rather randoml?; s~leetedfields of organic chemi d r v are present,ed and the general pattern followed is that. employed in the earlier volumes. The six tapirs discussed in the present volumr and their reviewrn are: Naturall.~ Occurring Unsaturated Fatty Acids, F. I>. Gunstone; Free Valence in Conjugatrd Organic Molecules, R. I'ullmen arid A. Pullman; Onygm Heterocyclic Rmpnl Xlrt,aholites, .\V.B. \iThalley; Naturally Occurring 2-.4e?-lcyclohexane-l,:l-I)iones, C. H. Hsssall; Degradation and Synthesis of Peptides and Proteins, A. H. Cook and G. Harris; Fiet,erocyclir Derivatives oi Phosphorous, Armnie and Antimony, F. G. Man,,. Each aubhor is a major contributor to the suhjeet ahout which he has written and thc rcvirws may hc considered authoritntivc. The first chapter provides an cxeell~nt concise survey of method8 of synthesis of nnsaturat,ed fatty ncids as well as an account concerning the orcurrmoe, isolation, and st~.uctut.cof various rwll-known and unusual n n ~ s t u r a t r d ist,t,r acids inclndine those eont,ainine acrtylenic, cyelopropme, and cyelopentens moieties. The omission of jojoba oil as s source of higher monoethenoid fatty ncids is noteworthy only by reason of the otherwise thorouph coverage. A particularly unfortunate typagraphicnl error noted in this chapter (psgc 11, first line) mhstitutcs linalenir acid far linolcic arid. The second chapter shows how- the (Continued on page A618) JOURNAL OF CHEMICAL EDUCATION
