Book reviews BENTLEY AND DRIVER'S TEXT- BOOK OF PHARMACEUTICAL CHEMISTRY. 8th edn. L. M. Atherden (1969). Pp. ix q- 916 q- Ill. (1969). Oxford University Press, London. •5. This is primarily an under- graduate teaching handbook for pharm- acy students and deals xvith the overall field of chemistry as applied to medica- ments in present-day use. There are not many textbooks with this particular slant in the English language and thus it is of special interest to those who need an introduction to the chemistry of drugs indeed, "Bentley and Driver" now appears in its eighth edition, thereby testifying to the continuing need as well as to the rate of advance in the field it covers. Dr. Atherden, who has taught the subject for a good many years at •vhat is now Bath University of Technology, is responsible for the current edition. He has retained much of the character of its predecessors, including the third edition revised by the late Professor J. E. Driver and published in 1937 (from which this reviewer derived much of his limited knowledge of the subject). The fact that the reviexv copy priced at •5 has a modest paperback binding is doubtless a sign of the times recognizing, how- ever, that pharmaceutical chemistry will surely undergo further major changes in the next 32 years, it is perhaps unlikely that the new edition will appear on bookshelves for such a long period as my copy of the 3rd edition. As before, there are three main sections viz. Part I Analytical Methods, 271 Part II Inorganic, and Part III Organic. In addition, there are concise Append- ices summarizing such matters as Pharmacopoeial Assays, Acid-Base In- dicators and the Quality Control of Drugs. Each section is, of course, tailored to suit the pharmacy syllabus and in particular, sets out to explain the reasoning behind the bald statements of the British Pharmacopoeia 1968 and the United States Pharmacopoeia Seven- teenth Revision insofar as they need a knowledge of chemistry for their com- prehension. For example, routes of synthesis are given for a great many modern drugs and the prescribed assays of the official compendia are discussed in terms of the principles on which they are based. Recognition of recent advances in chemistry is shown by the passages dealing with organometallic complexes in analysis, photometric methods and the measurement of radioactivity. The modern systematic approach to teaching of chemistry is shown in the fairly extensive exposition dealing with atomic nuclei, periodicity, valency which now precedes the chapters dealing with individual elements and their com- pounds. Obviously this fundamental theory is greatly condensed but readers xvho left university 10 years or more ago will almost certainly find quite a lot to be learned from this treatment. It is in the extensive chapters on organic medicinal chemistry where fringe interests (as in cosmetic science) will encounter the most helpful information. cosmetics has so far been rather narrow but if only in contemplating the use of

272 BOOK REVIEWS newer materials, it is extremely im- portant to know something of their chemistry. Very often there is common ground with pharmaceutical chemistry in this respect and "Bentley and Driver" will frequently serve ade- quately as a useful and quick source of reference. Perhaps the specialist in medicinal chemistry would find areas of dispute with the way in which the subject is handled, almost as a matter of principle my forecast, however, is that Dr. Atherden's revision will prove a worthy successor to its forerunners both for the teaching of undergraduates and for the benefit of all who need a general rather than a specialised knowledge of its subject matter. N.J. VAN ABBI•. DISPERSION OF POWDERS IN LIQUIDS. G. D. Partiff. editor. Pp. xiii + 354 + Ill. (1969). Elsevier, Amster- dam-London-New York. •6. The editor has gathered an authoritative team of eleven specialists in the field of powder dispersion tech- nology who, between them, contribute nine chapters outlining the principles, discussing the technology and assessing the current problems associated with the dispersion of powders in liquids. The first three chapters deal with the surface chemistry of powders and dispersions. These are followed by a chapter on precipitation, one on assess- ment of dispersion and one on the use of surfactants. There is then a chapter covering equipment in use and giving a brief description of the different types of dispersions commonly found in industry. The two final chapters deal with inorganic and organic pigments. Admittedly the range of physiologically- active compounds used in toiletries and The book will obviously be of great value to research workers engaged in solving the problems of pigment manu- facturers and pigment users, and will be particularly useful to the newcomer who requires an up to date and comprehen- sive summary of powder dispersion. B. COOK. TECHNIQUES IN PROTEIN SYN- THESIS, VOL. 2. Editors: P. N. Campbell and ]. R. Sargent. Pp. xiii + 273 + Ill. (1969). Academic _Press, London & New York. •4. $12. This series is described on the dust cover as outlining practical tech- niques for younger students lacking first-hand experience in the field. How- ever, this is certainly not an introductory book - only those with considerable biochemical training will be able to assimilate the concentrated data provided. The book opens with a study of the "Genetic approach to the study of protein biosynthesis" foilowed by chap- ters on protein biosynthesis in plant systems, polysomes, fractionation of ribosomal proteins and an appendix on the use of 'high energy' phosphate com- pounds in in vitro studies on protein synthesis. Most of the book will not directly concern the cosmetic chemist but to the research worker it is an admirable guide to current literature as well as a detailed and authoritative work in its own right. However, for good measure there is also a chapter by H. B. Waynforth on "Animal operative techniques". This is an excellent account, written clearly and beautifully illustrated by Mr. Peter Drury. The references to each section and the quality of the paper, print, and diagrams are all of the high standard one would expect in a book of this calibre. M. A. COOKE