According to its cover, this book "gathers in one convenient source contributions from a variety of spectroscopic specialties. The authors present a comprehensive overview of the field _ . .=. Well, not cpiite. The book does contain, on almost 500 type-written pages, some 33 research papers that were presented at the Ftj?h Intenrationd Symposium on Mms Spect.cometry in Biochemistry und Me&c&e, Rimini, Iraly, June 1978. There are o& two "overviews": An introductory one by Eenakis oa mass spectrometry in drug metabolism, and a more specific one by Brandenberger on anion mass spectrometry. The latter also provides the only light touch -intended, I'm sure-through an appeal with exchangeable adjectives: "Twelve positive aspects of negative ion mass spectrometryW. The remaining contributions are for the most solid, well-doc~umented research reports that couId have appeared in any reputable journal. Their tongue is English, though frequently of the Continental variety_ Their meaning, however, is always clear, and there are amazingly few typing errors. Mass spectrometry is the red thread of the book: The editor uses it to string up a motley row of papers in order of their biological content_ It is this content to which "Recent Developments" in the title must refer -because mass spectrometrr itself serves merely as a tool in ah but a few investigations. The first third of the book contains mostly law-induced studies of the metabolism of drugs: dibenzofcfl-[1,2&liazepine, propildazine, sydnocarb, l-(2-nitro-3-n_ ?thyl-phenoxy)3-terr.-butyIaminopropan-2-o& suloctidil, thiopropamine, (2-ethyL2, 3% '>ydro-S-benzof acetic acid, niclosamide, tetrahydrocann abmol, and lmethjl-3-hy~o~-~phenyl-7chloro-2N-1,4one.
Throughout the book one finds analyses: Of v&amine, phosphonoacetic acid, cyanide, thiocyanate, amino acids, and cadaverine in blood or plasma; of polyamines, steroids, organic acids and amiuo acids in urine; of biogenic amines in brain; of bile acids, prostaglandins, respiratory gases as well as of "metabolic profiles". Some of the analytical approaches are quite sophisticated and most are, as they should be, mission-oriented: These relate, for instance, to the synthesis of antibiotics, to poisoning, to schizophrenia, to virihsm and pregnancy, to respiration and, prominently, to cancer.
It is not unusual to have such symposium papers bound in a book rather than publishing them in the appropriate journals. Whether this is a wise decision is open to debate, One may laud the interdisciplinary nature of the book, or one may decry the burden its eclectic nature puts on libraries and information retrieval. User preference, I would hope, will 6naIly clarify the present confused situation.