Chromatographic Enantloseparatlon: Methods and Applications. Stig G. Allenmark. 224 pp. John Wiley & Sons, 605 Third Ave., New York, NY 10158. 1988. $65 Reviewed by William H. Pirkle, School of Chemical Sciences, University of Illinois, Urbana, IL 61801 Chromatographic Enantioseparation, refreshingly easy to read, was read ini tially during a flight from St. Louis to Washington, DC. The book elicited im mediate strong approval on several grounds. First, the printing and the abundant figures and drawings are crisp, clear, and pleasing to the eye. Second, Allenmark, one of the early de velopers of chiral stationary phases for liquid chromatographic separation of enantiomers, writes clearly and his fa miliarity with the field is evident. The book is a fairly concise yet complete account of this important field. Allenmark manages to give an even-handed treatment of all the topics covered. The book begins with a short account of stereochemical concepts and nomen clature, progresses to the various tech niques used to study enantiomers, and then to a discussion of modern chro matographic methods. With this foun dation laid, Allenmark proceeds to a general discussion of the theory of chiral chromatography and then to the meat of the text: chiral gas chromatog raphy and chiral liquid chromatogra phy. Both these topics are well covered, fully referenced, and as up to date as publication schedules allow. The book continues with an extensive section on analytical applications, preparativescale enantioseparations, and a look to future trends, and concludes with a compilation of synthetic procedures for the preparation of about a dozen chiral phases for liquid chromatography. The book has been circulated among my research group and has met with unanimous approval. It is judged as be ing useful, well organized, and easy to read. In the opinion of this reviewer, it is must reading for every graduate stu dent in organic, analytical, and inor ganic chemistry, as well as pharmacy and biochemistry. It has a place in most research groups working in these areas and in most pharmaceutical house lab oratories. It appears to be more suit able as a reference book than a text book despite the inclusion of a few ex ercises at the end of some chapters. It is an excellent place to start for someone new to the field wishing to acquire a good background quickly. The book is relatively free of errors, although one misstatement does ap pear in the section dealing with NMR
methods for determining enantiomeric purity. Contrary to statement, enantioselective interaction with the chiral sol vent (or chiral solvating agent) is not a prerequisite for peak separation. For example, the methyls of dimethylsulfoxide become anisochronous in the presence of chiral-solvating agents even though Me2SO is achiral. It is also noted that in Figure 7.15, the chiral recognition model shown is not the one presented in the literature; two of the interaction sites are interchanged.
Electroanalytlcal Techniques in Clini cal Chemistry and Laboratory Medi cine. Joseph Wang, χ + 177 pp. VCH Publishers, Suite 909, 220 East 23rd St., New York, NY 10010-4606. 1988. $59 Reviewed by George Harrington, De partment of Chemistry, Temple Uni versity, Beury Hall, 13th and Norris St., Philadelphia, PA 19122 This is a small book designed to en courage the use of electroanalytical techniques by the electrochemically uninitiated analyst working in biologi
cal areas. If such workers take the time to read this book the author may achieve his purpose. Similarly, the electroanalytical chemist who has nev er gone beyond the polarography of cadmium should find that this book can open new vistas. The book contains five chapters. The first is on voltammetry and controlledpotential techniques, the second covers ion-selective electrodes, the third is ti tled "Electrochemical Biosensors," the fourth surveys the use of electrochemi cal detectors in HPLC and other flow ing systems, and the fifth concerns in vivo electrochemistry. The last chapter could be of interest to the experienced electrochemist. Besides explaining the various tech niques, with many applications as illus trations, each chapter has a section on recent developments and a commen tary on future prospects. Thus the nonspecialist can develop a sense of where electroanalytical chemistry is going in the future and can look forward to the availability of even more useful tech niques at a later date. Theory is kept to a bare minimum in an attempt not to overwhelm the read er, and in most instances the theory
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ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY, VOL. 61, NO. 18, SEPTEMBER 15, 1989 · 1043 A
