books and software
A comprehensive survey of flow injection
Flow Injection Analysis—Instrumentation and Applications Marek Trojanowicz World Scientific Publishing Co. 2000, 481 pp, $109
tensive tables in the book list analytes and methods according to detection principles—electrochemical, spectrophotometric, and luminescent. Applications comprise two chapters: Speciation Analysis (chapter 7) and Routine Applications (chapter 8). Chapter 7 will assist anyone dealing with flow-based routine assays for environmental, oceanographic, agricultural, atmospheric, industrial, food, beverage, plant, animal tissue, mineral, soil, ore, ceramic, fertilizer, alloy, clinical, pharmaceutical, biological, or biotechnological process control. Chapter 8 deals concisely with developments in sequential, bead, and batch injection techniques, explaining the principles and providing examples of applications. Again, this is the first time these techniques have been summarized in a monograph. Selecting and organizing the material for this work was not an easy task; the
author had to wade through old and new references, which, at the time of writing, reached about 8000 citations. The result is a compendium valuable to those who need to find out rapidly whether their problem can be solved by FI techniques. If there is anything to criticize, it is the lack of an index, which would enable the reader to locate an analyte, reagent, or reference with ease. One can hope that the author will write the next edition of this monograph in a CD-ROM format, which will allow readers to roam in search of any topic. However, unless this happens in the near future, Marek Trojanowicz may need to enlist help to conquer the everflowing stream of papers injected daily into bibliographic databases.
Reviewed by Jaromir Ruzicka, University of Washington
T
his monograph belongs in the library of anyone who is practicing flow analysis. It is an excellent tool for anyone who is working in the field and a meticulous and comprehensive review of flow injection (FI) methodology, including a wide variety of automated reagentbased assays. This critical encyclopedia of FI comprises more than 2000 references and 35 tables well organized within its 11 chapters. Compared with numerous previously published monographs on FI, this work has a number of unique features. The material is organized into two main sections: detectors (chapters 1–6) and applications (chapters 7 and 8). Each section has several novel topics not covered by previous books. An example is the chapter on electrochemical detection methods, which provides, for the first time, a full overview of the methodology of FI-based electroanalytical systems. Both potentiometric and voltammetric methods are discussed, and the enhancement of stripping techniques by flowbased solution handling is highlighted. The chapter on enzymatic methods of immunoassays is yet another example of an area not previously covered in such a comprehensive manner. The ex-
Books & Software Received Chemical and Biological Sensors for Environmental Monitoring Edited by Ashok Mulchandani and Omowunmi A. Sadik Oxford University Press, 2000, 340 pp, $115
nal detection, probe optimization, data collection and analysis (bioinformatics), and gene expression analysis. Scientists such as molecular biologists, clinical chemists, and biochemists will find this book helpful.
This volume, ACS Symposium 762, presents recent advances in the research and development of chemical and biochemical sensors involved in environmental monitoring. The sensors are broken down into five categories: chemical, enzyme and protein, microbial, affinity, and nucleic acid-based.
Current Practice of Gas Chromatography–Mass Spectrometry Edited by W. M. A. Niessen Marcel Dekker, 2001, 507 pp, $175
DNA Arrays: Methods and Protocols Edited by Jang B. Rampal Humana Press, 2001, 264 pp, $89.50 Instructions for designing and constructing DNA microarrays, including how to hybridize them with biological samples, are presented in this book. Additional topics include antisense reagent applications, confocal scanning in genetic microarrays, sig-
The findings of about 40 laboratories using GC–MS in the environmental, pharmaceutical, clinical, toxicological, forensic, food-related, and industrial fields are combined to describe the upstream and downstream applications of this technique in the petroleum industry. Other techniques such as sample pretreatment and analyte derivatization are also examined. Also included is the technique that combines high-volume injection and solid-phase extraction to detect drugs, explosives, flavors and fragrances, and steroids.
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books and software
Books & Software Received Sombrilla PerkinElmer Instruments ~$10,000 first-year subscription to WebConnector with one WebEnabler http://www.perkinelmer.com Requires: Server with Microsoft Windows 2000 professional or server operating system, CD drive, network card, Pentium III processor, and Internet Explorer 5.5 or higher The Sombrilla WebConnector is a Webbased instrument and data management system that is compatible with instruments from multiple vendors. It operates on a server to provide intranet or Internet access to data from laboratory instruments that generate PDF or Excel files. WebEnablers designed for specific types of PerkinElmer instruments allow remote-run monitoring, data manipulation, and report configuration. DecisionSite Spotfire, Inc. $3500 one-year subscription http://www.spotfire.com Requires: Windows 95/NT4, Explorer 5 Spotfire’s DecisionSite is a data management system that integrates with information in any format from both proprietary and Internet sources. DecisionSite formulates SQL statements corresponding to the user’s queries and choice of data attributes. The user analyzes complex information based on correlations shown among descriptors in the dynamically linked charts, graphs, and tables generated from data sets. CISPRO 2000 ChemSW $1799 single user http://www.chemsw.com Requires: Windows NT4 or 2000, or Oracle 8 This updated version of CISPRO 2000 provides a new security and audit trail option that is compliant with 21 CFR Part 11. New features include defining an ingredient list for formulations to be incorporated into scaled batch re-
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cords; creating and modifying reports from an integrated custom report designer; and integrating with ChemOffice to import, display, edit, and search on structure, data, and other fields. ACS/SpecManager Advanced Chemistry Development $12,500 or $4900 for academia http://www.acdlabs.com Requires: Windows 95, 98, 200, NT
ACS/SpecManager is software that processes and manages a variety of spectra from NMR, MS, UV–vis, IR, Raman, FT-IR, and LC/MS. It can store and manage spectra that include chemical structures, spectral parameters, file links, chemical properties, user notes, audit trails, and other related information. EZChrom Elite Scientific Software, Inc. $5000 and up http://www.scisw.com Requires: Windows NT, 2000
EZChrom Elite is the 32-bit second generation of the EZ Chrom chromatography data system, which is suited for stand-alone and client/server environments. The software provides laboratory data acquisition, instrument control, and analysis. Clients who use Excel will find the EZChrom Elite’s advanced reporting formatting sequence summary a familiar feature. Spectral ID V3 Galactic Industries Corp. $895, http://www.galactic.com Requires: Windows 95, 98, 2000, NT4
Spectral ID V3 is 32-bit spectroscopic software, which can search complete GC/MS or GC-IR data sets and display, edit, and store molecular structures. It includes three algorithms for mass spectral searching and provides features to improve library creation, development, and maintenance. Spectral ID V3 also supports other commercial libraries, including Aldrich,
Bio-Rad Sadtler, Chemical Concepts, Nicolet-Aldrich, NIST, and Wiley. Origin Renewable License for Teaching Labs OriginLab Corp. $177 and requires a minimum of 15 users; $59 for renewal http://www.OriginLab.com Requires: Windows 95, 98, 2000, NT4
Origin Renewable License for Teaching Labs is the scientific graphing and data analysis software suited for the professor who teaches science and engineering courses that use computer-based laboratories. Features include linear and nonlinear curve fitting, FFT, baseline and peak analysis, and descriptive statistics. Users can import data formats, directly open and use Excel, customize graph attributes, and create statistics. Chromatogram Library SciQuest $695, http://www.sciquest.com Requires: License agreement and Internet access
Chromatogram Library is a comprehensive Web-based application that assists research organizations with drug discovery. The software allows scientists to perform a search by entering a chromatogram title/keyword or compound name to retrieve all available chromatograms, including their peak identification and separation conditions. HaveItAll NMR Bio-Rad $6000 for unlimited-access one-year subscription; $999 for look-up license access http://www.bio-rad.com Requires: Windows 95, 98, 2000, NT
HaveItAll NMR is a collection of more than 200,000 spectra of pure and commercial compounds on one CD for secure desktop searching. Compound spectra include polymers, pure organic compounds, inorganics, and organometallics.
