BOOK REVIEWS May's Chemistry of Synthetic Drugs
G. Moleolm D y s o n in consultation with Percy May. 5th ed. Longmans, Green
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& Co., Inc., New York, 1959. vii 678 pp. Figs. and tables. 16 X 24 cm. $22.50.
The previous edition of May's "Chemietry of Synthetic Drugs" was puhlished in 1939 and the material for the most part, has been rewritten and expanded due to the tremendous advances in the drug field in the past two decades. There are now a total of 30 chanters coverine sueh thines as antitubercular, antileprotic, and anticholinergic drugs, coagulants, antico-
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agulrtnts, carcinogens, antimitotic compounds, vitamins, hormones, anesthetics, sedatives, hypnotics, antibiotics, and antihistamines. The sulphonamidea which formerly were covered in a paragraph and took four references now occupy a chapter with 71 references. The book is well-written and has a minimum of errors such as the formula for szaserine. The physiological and biochemical basis for the drug action is given where known and is a big help in aiding the typical organic chemist t o understand the need for and the basis of use of the various types of drugs. The syntheses of the major drugs are well illustrated by numerous equations and structural formulas. Several nvnthe~es are qiwn for rn:,n? of the nmjor dnlg.~.so that :i wv:8ilh d m i o r ~ n ~ ~ i.*l ~i ~i ~ w !w 1~ 1 , conviw
form with close to 3000 references to the original literature and patents. The chief criticism which can he made of this edition is that there are few references later than 1952. As a result such drugs as the fluorine-containing steroids and 6-mercaptopurine are not mentioned nor is the structure of a vasopressin or that of oxytocin given although the latter was synthesized by du Vignemd in 1954 and the structure of mginine-vasopressin was deduced in 1952. In spite of this the book is a good source of general information about the structure and s . ~ t h e ~ i sof the more important classes of organic drugs.
JOHN S. MEEK University of Colorado Boulder
Principles of Rodioirotope Melhodology
Grafta D. Chase, Philadelphia College of Pharmacy and Science, Phil* delphia, Pennsylvania. Burgess Pnblishing Co., Minncspolis, Minnesota, 1959. 286 pp. Figs. 21.5 X 28 cm. $6. The author of this lehoratory manual of radioisotope methodology assigns himself in the preface a task of Herculean proportions but has nevertheless mitten a volume which should he of considerable value to those in march of fairly detailed information concerning elementary techniques. He mites not for t,he physicist hut for the "technician, the advanced medical student and the researcherwno mean as~ignment in any scientific field. Despite the attempt to satisfy sueh a broad speotrum of interests, he has succeeded in gathering within the covers of this single volume a great deal of radioisotope information which until very recently has been available only in a. number of different journdls and equipment manuals. Many a college inntructor will welcome the availability of bhis convenient information source. Since the principal ohjeetive is to describe laboratory procedures, fundamental theory is introduced in admittedly sketchy faqhion, the assumption being that one or more theoretical texts hill be used in conjunction with it. As an example, d i e cussion of the interaction of X-rays and gamma radiation with matter occupies little mare than a. page; this is fairly typical. The lahorittory experiments are graded in difficulty, progressing from simple techniquu~such as ssmple preparation to the more complex, such as liquid scintillation counting. The intent is to provide greater challenge for the abler student by the inclusion of a few more sophisticated techniques. The first part of the text deals with fundamental considerations involved in counting radioactive samples. Many details hitherto availahle only in journal articles have been supplied. The chapter on Statistics ie hardly to he described as rigorous, but has the virtue of clarity and simplicity as far as it goes. At least it cannot be charged
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BOOK REVIEWS that the author has lost his audience in n jungle of statistioal symbolism as so often happens. The discussion of instrumentation covers a. wide variety of counting methods including windowless flow, proportional, scintillation and liquid scintillation counters as well as the 1,andsverk electrometer. Differential pulse height analysis is con~pieuousby its absence in the section on scintillation counters. Thia omission seems to the reviewer to be regrettable since this method holds so much promise for the future. Probahly in large measur? because of thia omission, there is no discussion of the important topic of activation analysis; though it can of course be argued that nuclear reactors are still not mffioiently available to warrant its inclusion. The detail concerning the operation of n Tri Carh liquid scintillation counter is quite complete. The 50-90% efficiency range for this method suggested on page 202 may be a hit misleading although t,he value does fall in this range for sonw isotopes. There is a chapter covering a broad, representative group of chemicd techniques and s brief find chapter on biological methodology. The teacher who ha- been searching for a. laboratory manual which spells out iu fairly elementary fashion the detail8 of radioisotope manipulations u?ll welcoms this volume. The writing is generally clear and to thc point. While the author has passed up the opportunity of supplying information in few areas currently needing attention, perhaps in the lnst analysis omission ia better than a poorllorganized presentation. The researcher will likely find the point of view a bit elementary, though even he may welcome the convenience of a singlevolume source of detailed information, While this volume probably will not have the same appeal to all groups for which it is written, it, is on the whole n very creditable work and ehauld do much to facilitate the dpvelopment of laboratory courses a t the int,rodurtory level. DONALD S.
ALLEN
Sfote linirersily College of Edvcniion
Albang, New York
Chemistry for Colleges and Schools
D. N . Underwood, Malet Lambert School, Hull, Englsnd. St. Martin's Press, Inc., New York, 1959. viii 469 pp. Figs. and tables. 13.5 X 19 em. $3.50.
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Since the launching of Sputnik I, cribica of high-school chemistry have blasted off into orbit, and they me still beeping. They imply that chemical education in any mature country surpasses that in t,he TJnited States. "Textbooks are out of date" proclaims a New York newspaper science editor currently. In t,he presence of these many pressures (Continued a page A666)
A554 / Journal o f Chemical Education
