Industrial Dyes: Chemistry, Properties, Applications. Edited by Klaus Hunger (Kelkheim, Germany). Wiley-VCH: Weinheim. 2003. xxiv + 600 pp. $185.00. ISBN 3-527-30426-6. This reference book, written by an international group of renowned experts in the titled area, covers the syntheses, properties, and main applications of the principal classes of industrially produced dyes and provides toxicological, ecological, and legislative information about them as well. The book is divided into the following eight chapters: Dyes, General Survey; Important Chemical Chromophores of Dye Classes; Dye Classes for Principal Applications; Textile Dyeing; Nontextile Dyeing; Functional Dyes; Optical Brighteners; and Health and Safety Aspects. A table of commercially available dyes and an index complete the book. JA0335418 10.1021/ja0335418
and solids. A number of methods based on Hamiltonian transformations and the use of pseudopotentials are also discussed. A brief discussion of density functional theory and its applications to relativistic atomic and molecular problems improves the overall quality and utility of this book even further. Applications are discussed in the last three sections. Although one would have liked to see more examples, it is probably impossible to include all of the experimental facts and theoretical models obtained and developed to analyze relativistic effects in the heavy elements. I think this book will be very useful for many scientists who are working with the chemistry and physics of heavy elements. Many students may also find this book useful during their graduate studies. There is one disadvantage (or advantage, depending on your perspective): the chapters are written by different authors. Thus, one can easily note differences in their styles. In addition to this, some (even basic) equations, discussions, and other details are repeated in different chapters. Vedene H. Smith, Jr., Queen’s UniVersity JA033504G
Relativistic Effects in Heavy-Element Chemistry and Physics. Edited by Bernd A. Hess (FriedrichAlexander-Universita¨t, Erlangen-Nu¨rnberg). John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.: Chichester. 2003. xix + 307 pp. $105.00. ISBN 0-470-84138-9. As is noted in the Preface, this book reports on six years of research by a group of German scientists in the area of relativistic effects in heavy-element chemistry and physics. It is an important and timely addition to any collection of books on quantum chemistry. Relativistic quantum chemistry is a very rapidly developing area with new experimental results and theoretical predictions, including various relativistic effects, being published almost daily for numerous compounds of heavy elements. Unfortunately, most of the results can only be found in the original literature. This book corrects the situation and presents an extensive discussion of the topic at hand as well as a very detailed review of the modern literature. More than 1000 references are included and thoroughly cover the history of relativistic methods since Dirac’s time. To its advantage, this book covers many different approaches and approximations that are currently used to analyze the properties of compounds that include heavy elements. It begins with a discussion of the basic theory of relativistic effects and quantum electrodynamics (QED) in strong fields. This chapter is well written and updates the reader on the most recent developments in atomic bound-state QED and its applications. Chapters 2-4 provide reviews of the basic theoretical and computational formalism extensively used in the theoretical consideration of various relativistic effects in quantum chemistry and physics. These chapters include a detailed discussion of ab initio four-component methods developed for atoms, molecules, Unsigned book reviews are by the Book Review Editor. 10144
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The Essence of Chromatography. By Colin F. Poole (Wayne State University). Elsevier: Amsterdam and New York. 2003. x + 926 pp. $89.00. ISBN 0-444-50199-1 (Paperback). As an analytical chemistry instructor, I used Chromatography Today, the original volume written by Colin F. Poole and Salwa K. Poole, for a graduate course on chromatography in the early 1990s. At the time, I felt that this volume was an excellent survey of the field that was well suited for use by students and professional scientists. Therefore, I was very interested to see if this new book by Colin Poole would be equally useful. I am happy to report that this volume is even better than the original. First, in addition to offering descriptions of the major chromatographic techniques [gas chromatography (GC), high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), thin-layer chromatography, supercritical fluid chromatography, and preparative chromatography], it also contains a chapter dedicated to techniques in capillary-electromigration. I would therefore argue that a better title for the volume might be “The Essence of Modern Separation Science”, although this is a rather trivial criticism. In general, the book is an excellent source of information on all aspects of chromatography. For example, there are sections on GC and HPLC detectors, as well as a separate chapter on spectroscopic detectors, all of which are important components of modern instrumentation. The chapter on chromatographic separation of stereoisomers is a particularly useful treatment of a relatively new and significant area in separation science. This volume would be very appropriate for use in a graduate level course in this area, or as a reference for practicing 10.1021/ja0335418 CCC: $25.00 © 2003 American Chemical Society
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chromatographers. It is not simply a revision of Chromatography Today; most chapters have been completely rewritten, and several new topics have been introduced. Consequently, the volume contains an appropriate mix of classic and modern references. In summary, I highly recommend this volume. I believe it has great practical utility for students and practitioners of separation science, including analytical, biological, environmental, and synthetic chemists.
enzyme electrophoresis. The book is divided into three general areas: Part I: Introduction; Part II: General Principles of Enzyme Detection on Electrophoretic Gels; and Part III: Methods of Detection of Specific Enzymes. Aside from the appendix mentioned above, there are also appendices on “Minimal Medium for Escherichia coli”, “Citrate Medium for Pediococcus cereVisiae”, and an “Alphabetical List of Enzymes”.
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Polymer Blends Handbook, Volumes 1-2. Edited by L. A. Utracki (National Research Council Canada). Kluwer Academic Publishers: Dordrecht. 2002. xxxvi + 1442 pp. $583.50. ISBN 1-4020-1114-8 (Set). The goal in creating this handbook was “to provide the most comprehensive information on all aspects of polymer blend science and technology.” With this in mind, the editor has organized the book into two parts: (1) fundamental principles, which includes coverage of the principles of thermodynamics, crystallization, and compatibilization of polymer blends, as well as interpenetrating polymer networks, and the rheology and morphology of these blends, and (2) the technology of polymer blends, which contains discussions of compounding, processing, and the use of high-energy irradiation, as well as descriptions of the properties, performance, longevity, and applications of polymer blends. The latter section also covers commercial blends, the role of blend technology in polymer recycling, and a discussion of the future of the field. The following four appendices are also included: “International Abbreviations for Polymers and Polymer Processing”, “Miscible Polymer Blends”, “Examples of Commercial Polymer Blends”, and “Dictionary of Terms Used in Polymer Science and Technology”. A subject index completes the book. JA0335465 10.1021/ja0335465
Handbook of Detection of Enzymes on Electrophoretic Gels, Second Edition. By Gennady P. Manchenko (Institute of Marine Biology, Russian Academy of Science). CRC Press LLC: Boca Raton. 2003. xiv + 554 pp. $159.95. ISBN 0-849-31257-4. The aim of the author in writing the original handbook was “to bring together in one volume all specific zymogram techniques developed since the pioneer work by Hunter and Markert in 1957.” Toward this goal, more than 900 methods for detecting more than 400 different enzymes are covered in this edition. It updates the first edition by (1) giving an overview of new applications of enzyme electrophoresis and zymogram techniques; (2) adding zymogram techniques for approximately 100 enzymes not included in the first edition; (3) providing information about the subunit structure within the enzyme sheets to aid interpretation of isozyme patterns detected on zymograms; and (4) including an appendix about buffer systems used for
Wiley Guide to Chemical Incompatibilities, Second Edition. Edited by Richard P. Pohanish and Stanley A. Greene. John Wiley & Sons, Inc.: Hoboken. 2003. xvi + 1278 pp. $125.00. ISBN 0-471-23859-7. This new edition contains “nearly 9,500 chemical incompatibility profiles using more than 12,000 chemical and trade names.” Its goal is to serve as a portable reference on reactive substances to guide all personnel, from chemists to plant managers to truck drivers, in charge of the handling, storage, and transportation of chemical materials. These profiles provide information regarding “flammability, violent and explosive binary reactions, incompatibilities, and reactions that may result from physical change.” They also cover compatibilities with common materials, other chemicals, structural materials, and personal protective equipment. All entries include CAS numbers. Many Spanish (and some Italian and French) names have also been added. A glossary, appendices of reducing agents and of oxidizing materials, and a bibliography complete the book. JA033549H 10.1021/ja033549h
Progress in the Chemistry of Organic Natural Products, 85. Edited by W. Herz (The Florida State University), H. Falk (Johannes-Kepler-Universita¨t, Austria), and G. W. Kirby (The University of Glasgow). Springer-Verlag: Wien. 2003. x + 258 pp. $189.00. ISBN 3-211-83783-3. Volume 85 is the latest entry in a series that has become known for timely and comprehensive reviews of natural products. It consists of three chapters written by experts in their fields. As is often the case with multiauthor books, the quality of the chapters varies considerably. The first chapter, “Natural Products Derived from Naphthalenoid Precursors by Oxidative Dimerization” by Krohn, is a wellwritten, timely, and comprehensive review of the subject. The isolation, structure elucidation, biological activity, biosynthesis, and total synthesis of these compounds are discussed. The article contains excellent tabular summaries of the physical and biological properties of 90 known spirobisnaphthalenes. In addition, compounds that were independently discovered by multiple researchers are nicely correlated. There are only a few minor typographical errors. A sample (15%) of the references was checked for accuracy, and no significant errors were found. This article is an excellent summary of this group of natural products. J. AM. CHEM. SOC.
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The second chapter, “Prokaryotic Glycoproteins” by Messner and Schaffer, is also well written, timely, and comprehensive. In it, the authors discuss the structure, synthesis, biosynthesis, and biological importance of these natural products. The inclusion of a tabular summary of the known prokaryotic glycoproteins with references to the primary literature is particularly useful. This review cites over 300 references, including a number of previous reviews of this topic. A small portion (∼5%) of the references was checked for accuracy; no errors were found. As with the first chapter in this book, this review is an excellent starting point for any researcher who wants to become familiar with this field. The third chapter, by Chakraborty and Roy, is entitled “Carbazole Alkaloids IV” and is part 4 of a series initiated by the authors in 1977. Unfortunately, this chapter fails to live up to the high standard set by the other chapters of the book. The drawings are of poor quality, suffering in many instances from misplaced atom labels and/or missing or extra bonds. This sometimes results in ridiculously wrong structures, for example, strychnine (p 1) has a ring that should be saturated but is drawn as aromatic, thereby resulting in a carbon with five bonds and a six-membered ring that contains a trans double bond. There are also numerous typographical errors. The utility of the article is somewhat diminished by insufficient literature citation as well. For example, there is a tabular summary of published NMR data that only identifies the
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listed compounds by name (with no link to structures) and does not include references. Also, some parts of the discussion cite only a prior review article rather than the primary literature; in other cases, there is no citation at all. In addition, the article is somewhat out of date; the most recent reference is from 1997, and many (∼60%) of the citations date from before 1990. A sample (10%) of the references was checked for accuracy; one significant error (wrong journal) was found in addition to several minor errors (misspelled author names, incorrect titles). On the plus side, there is a nice discussion of the structure elucidation of many carbazole alkaloids in the section entitled, somewhat inaccurately, “Chemistry of Carbazole Alkaloids”. While this article does contain some useful information, the poor quality of the presentation substantially diminishes its value. Overall, this volume of the series continues the tradition established by L. Zechmeister 65 years ago. It is a useful addition to the review literature and will be of interest to anyone who works with organic natural products. While the high cost of the book will probably preclude its purchase by most individuals, it should be a part of any comprehensive institutional collection. Timothy A. Blizzard, Merck Research Laboratories JA033522Y 10.1021/ja033522y
