books and software
A Guided Tour of HPLC
The HPLC Solvent Guide Paul C. Sadek John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2002, 664 pp, $99.95
Readers who are interested in a specific compound must refer to the Analyte Index, not to the chapter dedicated to that solvent’s use. Nonetheless, these chapters are most useful. For example, paragraph 4.1 on impurities is important in laboratory practice, and it is extremely unusual to find these aspects reported in HPLC literature. Chapters 5 (Alkanes and Alkyl Aromatics), 6 (Chlorinated Alkanes and Chlorinated Benzenes), 7 (Ethers), 8 (Ketones and Esters), 9 (Nitriles and Nitrogenous Solvents), and 10 (Water, Dimethyl Sulfoxide, and Common Acid Modifiers) are organized in the same way. The book is practice-oriented and
handy for the laboratory. However, it can be valuable in other contexts as well. In particular, students can learn the great power of HPLC as a separation method and problem-solving tool and how the technique has enhanced the reputation of analytical chemistry over other branches of science and technology, such as biochemistry, the polymer or pharmaceutical industries, and environmental chemistry. This book will surely prove valuable to those using HPLC and facing practical separations cases. Reviewed by Francesco Dondi, University of Ferrara (Italy)
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he second edition of The HPLC Solvent Guide has an impressive set of 1600 references and is essentially a handbook, not a textbook. For example, in chapter 1, the reader will not find indepth explanations of the physicochemical properties of the solvents, which determine their use as HPLC mobile phases; instead, the book focuses more on the practical use of different solvents in the HPLC laboratory. Likewise, although chapter 2 reports on method optimization, the emphasis is on the practical aspects of application; chapter 3, devoted to method validation, essentially only mentions some aspects of the problem. Chapter 4 discusses chemical solvent functionality and is an example of the essence of the book. Unfortunately, the chapter is sometimes a little bit scrambled and somewhat jumbled. The reader needs to be aware that in this chapter, “alcohols” are regarded as HPLC solvents and not analytes. Thus, chapter 4 reports the cases where different analytes can be separated by HPLC using alcohols as solvents. The reader also should note that the various analytes are not presented and discussed according to their chemical character but as belonging to a specific field of interest. However, the number of cases considered is really impressive and includes general analytes; environmentally important analytes; industrial and polymer analytes; biological analytes; amino acid, peptide, and protein analytes; and pharmaceutical analytes. F E B R U A R Y 1 , 2 0 0 3 / A N A LY T I C A L C H E M I S T R Y
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