Books
which lists Rf values for the separation of inorganic ions using various solvent systems. The author has provided a comprehensive collection of literature references which the reader can consult for greater detail. Literature references are included only through 1971 (with only a few 1972 citations), however, which makes the work somewhat dated. The monograph is well-written, and the clarity of presentation is excellent with few typographical errors. The book is written for those working in analytical laboratories to provide a reference work to assist them in their requirements for the separation and analysis of inorganic ions using paper, thin-layer, or column chromatography. In this respect, the author has realized his goal in writing the text, and it can be recommended as a most useful source of this information.
Stimulating and Recording Electrodes * Introduction to Bioelectrodes. Clifford D. Ferris, xii + 243 pages. Plenum Publishing Corp., 227 West 17th St., New York, N.Y. 10011. 1974. $19.50
Reviewed by R. A. Carter, Department of Pathology, Hollymoor Hospital, Northfield, Birmingham B31 5EX, England This work covers many types of electrodes likely to be encountered in biological research, medical work, and clinical chemistry. It discusses stimulating and recording electrodes used in electrocardiography and neurophysiology as well as analytical electrodes. Some electrodes familiar to the analytical laboratory but of limited application in biology are omitted (e.g., the dropping mercury electrode), but the coverage is wide and the book spans a number of different disciplines. There is a general theoretical treatment of polarization, impedance, and capacitance in electrode systems, as well as statements of theory in moderate depth for each class of electrode described. Particular attention is given to microelectrodes, which are much used in investigating the nervous system. Practical details of fabrication, often clearly the result of personal experience, appear throughout the text alongside the theory. Reference electrodes are well covered, although some less common varieties
which may be useful with ion-specific electrodes have not been included. Ion-specific electrodes are described in less depth; there are now so many varieties that systematic treatment would greatly expand the book, and other texts exist on this topic. The coverage of this subject will serve as a useful introduction. Specialized electrodes, mostly for recording and stimulating the heart in medical and experimental situations, are discussed from a practical standpoint. Especially useful in this section are details of electrodes designed to remain in contact with body tissues for prolonged periods. An electrode is of little use without the right sort of amplifier to accept its signals, and the author wisely includes a discussion of amplifiers (partly theoretical, partly practical). There is also treatment of signal analysis, filtering and recovery of low-level signals from a noisy background, which are of most interest to those working with recording electrodes. The book will be most useful to physiologists and animal experimental workers and will be useful also to clinical chemistry laboratories. It should be of considerable use in intensive care units and in clinical research departments in hospitals. Its use to the analytical chemist will be more restricted and will probably lie mainly in its well-chosen references to a wide range of electrode topics. The analytical sections form a relatively small part of the book, but the theoretical treatments relative to these can also be found in large standard texts.
Ore and Mineral Analysis * Chemical Phase Analysis. Roland S. Young, vii + 138 pages. Halsted Press, 605 Third Ave., New York, N.Y. 10016. 1974. $11.50
Reviewed by W. R. Bandi and J. D. Selvaggio, Physics & Analytical Chemistry Division, U.S. Steel Corp., Monroeville, Pa. 15146 This book is an important starting point for the laboratory which is inexperienced in the use of chemistry to identify and quantitatively determine phases in ore and mineral analysis. Often this type of analysis is technologically and economically more important than accurate elemental composition because the phases can be more closely related to industrial processing problems. The book is not meant to be comprehensive in nature, but rather to be a ready reference which fulfills a need in a field where there is no adequate publication in English. As an example, of the 141 references in the chapter on
964 A · ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY, VOL. 47, NO. 11, SEPTEMBER 1975
iron, 72% are in foreign journals (including analytical chemistry journals), 15% are in English, Canadian, and American mining publications, and only 13% are in analytical journals which are printed in English. This seems to show that American and English analytical journals do not encourage publication of the type of chemical separations found in this book. The introduction is particularly useful in that it points out some of the errors, pitfalls, and shortcomings of chemical phase analysis. The chapters on copper, nickel, cobalt, silicon, calcium, and iron are particularly well done and obviously reflect the author's knowledge in these fields. As the author has stated, many procedures are scattered throughout other literature, and collecting and summarizing these analytical methods appears the main purpose of this book. In doing this, he has chosen to ignore the ferrous metallurgical literature showing the separation of phases from iron, steel, and other like alloy systems. To include an obscure Japanese reference on the anodic separation of molybdenum-bearing cementite from steel and to ignore the isolation of a hundred phases by anodic dissolutions that are in the literature along with the classical book by Koch on this subject presents a very unrepresentative picture. Similarly, to refer to a Japanese publication on the isolation of titanium carbide and titanium nitride from steel and to ignore the very large number of other references to the isolation of carbides, nitrides, and carbonitrides is presenting a false picture of phase analysis in the metallurgical area. It would have been better to have omitted these two references and confine the book strictly to ore and mineral analysis. In spite of this, the book is a worthwhile contribution and will be useful to many analytical chemists and laboratories investigating raw materials.
Continuing Series * Separation and Purification Methods, Vol. 3. Edmond S. Perry, Carel J. van Oss, and Eli Grushka, Eds. xii + 463 pages. Marcel Dekker, Inc., 270 Madison Ave., New York, N.Y. 10016. 1975. $29.50
The third volume of this series, which is designed to cover the developments in all areas of separation and purification methods, treats the following 12 selected topics of interest to the field: ligand specific chromatography; the nature of ionically modified aromatic polyamide membranes; open pore polyurethane: a new separation medium; countercurrent chromatogra-
Books
the many problems which arise from the study of vibrational-rotational spectra by infrared spectroscopy. The third chapter discusses the usefulness of Raman spectroscopy for structural elucidation of biopolymers such as nucleic acids, proteins, and their synthetic analogs.
phy; separation of nucleic acid constituents by column liquid chromatography; plasma chromatography; a comparison of semipermeable microcapsules and standard dialysers for use in separation; high-pressure ion-exchange chromatography as applied to the separation of complex biochemical mixtures; fusion reaction gas chromatography; separation and analysis of nucleic acids and their constituents by ion-exclusion and ion-exchange column chromatography; how to design liquid membrane separations; and porous layer open tubular gas chromatography columns. Each of the 12 presentations contains a brief introduction section followed in general by experimental procedure, discussion, and conclusion sections. The book is a photo-offset copy of author-furnished typewritten text.
Practical Approach to Gas Chromatography
* Advances in Chromatography, Vol. 12. J. Calvin Giddings, Eli Grushka, Roy A. Keller, and Jack Cazes, Eds. xiv + 278 pages. Marcel Dekker, Inc., 270 Madison Ave., New York, N.Y. 10016. 1975. $22.75
After publication of 11 volumes since its beginning in 1965, this series has adopted several "area editorships" with this volume. Topics reviewed in seven chapters include: the use of high-pressure liquid chromatography in pharmacology and toxicology; chromatographic separation and molecular-weight distributions of cellulose and its derivatives; practical methods of high-speed liquid chromatography; measurement of diffusion coefficients by gas-chromatography broadening techniques; gas-chromatography analysis of polychlorinated biphenyls and other nonpesticide organic pollutants; high-performance electrometer systems for gas chromatography; and steam carrier gas-solid chromatography· * Vibrational Spectra and Structure, Vol. 3. James R. Durig, Ed. ix + 328 pages. Marcel Dekker, Inc., 270 Madison Ave., New York, N.Y. 10016. 1975. $29.75
This latest volume of the series presents critical summaries of recent work as well as suggestions for fruitful areas of future work in the field of vibrational spectra. Chapter 1 describes detailed application of symmetry group operations to both rigid and nonrigid molecules. Chapter 2 covers
Basic Gas Chromatography. Harold M. McNair. Six cassettes (playing time, 4 hr) + 110 page manual. Educational Activities Dept., American Chemical Society, 1155 16th St., N.W., Washington, D.C. 20036. 1974. $80
Reviewed by Milos Novotny, Department of Chemistry, Indiana University, Bloomington, Ind. 47401 "Basic Gas Chromatography" is one of the series of ACS Audio Courses which provides for a practical introduction to a rather broad field. The fundamentals of gas chromatography are explained through taped lectures replayed on a cassette player by a user and supplemented by a manual of 110 pages. This course consists of six basic chapters on the fundamentals, instrumental aspects, and the analytical techniques of gas chromatography (total playing time of 4 hr). Numerous references to both basic and specialized books and commercial literature are also included. The basic and practical aspects of gas chromatography are presented here in a clear manner, and the discussion of most subjects is adequately developed. Practical information on laboratory techniques presented by the author can also be valuable to a user of gas chromatography. Those who could potentially benefit most from "Basic Gas Chromatography" are laboratory technicians and workers in nonchemical disciplines using the method. The course would be less valuable to a college chemistry student. Most of the chapters are well balanced. The part dealing with quantitative techniques appears as best. Least satisfactory and rather sketchy is the introductory part. In spite of the practical orientation of this course, it is felt that a more adequate discussion of the physical principles of chromatography and the mechanism of zone broadening should be presented. Furthermore, even in certain very practical directions, the text is not particularly up-to-date (e.g., in the areas of general instrumentation, column technology, and sampling systems). For instance, more recent and pertinent references to work on gas chromatographic detectors and ancillary techniques would be desirable.
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Although there exist several good and more comprehensive books on gas chromatography, this practical approach to teaching the fundamentals deserves attention. With rapid expansion of gas chromatography into both research and routine laboratories in and outside of the field of chemistry and concern about its adequate teaching and popularization, this instructional approach could be successful. Just as with many other subjects, the instruction through tapes may become increasingly popular. Inaccuracies in the text and typographical errors in the manual are relatively minor.
Computer Methods in Spectrometry Determination of the Spectrochemical Working Curve. Special Technical Publication 562. Publication Code No. 04562000-39. Two cassettes (playing time, 3 hr) + pamphlet. American Society for Testing and Materials, 1916 Race St., Philadelphia, Pa. 19103. 1974. $15.25
Reviewed by Ramon M. Barnes, Department of Chemistry, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Mass. 01002 This material is the third in a series of tape-recorded symposia presented by the American Society for Testing and Materials at the Pittsburgh Conference on Analytical Chemistry and Applied Spectroscopy. The audio tapes accompanied by a booklet of figures and tables keyed to each presentation make conveniently available current information for those who cannot attend the original symposium. The two tapes include five talks which describe the determination and correction of spectrochemical analytical curves based upon computer methods in optical emission spectrometry and X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy. Algorithms and procedures are discussed for curve fitting and scaling, as well as corrections for spectral line interferences, instrument drift, interelement matrix effects, and distribution of standard concentration values. In the first presentation, J. Kelly describes examples of functional relationships affecting analytical curves for optical emission and X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy. The algorithms for each of eight major effects are given. Four types of spectrochemical reference materials for establishing instrument drift, spectral line coincidence, matrix effect, and certified calibration are also described. Determination of polynomial coefficients in curve fitting programs for photographic emulsion equations and analytical curves is discussed by J. Hur-
