j. Soc. Cosmet. Chem., 38, 351-352 (September/October 1987) Book Review ADVANCED BIOCHEMICAL ENGI- NEERING, Edited by Henry R. Bungay and Georges Belfort. Wiley-Interscience, John Wiley & Sons, New York, 1987. Reading over this book evokes one par- amount question: why? It is certainly not a bad book but it is, with equal certainty, an unnecessary one. According to the preface, the volume comprises the contri- butions of the instructors who have taught a summer short course entitled Biochemical Engineering.' Separations, Fermentation, and Genetics, at the Rensselaer Polytechnic In- stitute. Collective volumes, despite the most heroic efforts of editors, generally lack a clear theme and often exhibit great differ- ences in the scope and type of treatment / afforded the various topics. This book is no exception. Despite the term "ad- vanced" in the title, some sections are ele- mentary in their approach. This is under- standable when one recognizes that a summer course cannot require prerequi- sites. Participants come to it with varied backgrounds and many will surely need a brief introduction at a beginning level. Publishing such material, however, is hardly justified. Before commenting on the several chapters, I must note one more general criticism. Nauman opens the book with a perceptive and interesting overview of biochemical engineering, but he falls into the common (in my view) trap of associ- ating "biochemical engineering" only with the "bioprocess" component of "bio- technology." Bioprocesses are those in which living cells or their components, e.g. enzymes, are used to carry out desired chemical or physical changes. It is also implied that the industrial application of biochemical systems lies mainly in the fu- ture. This ignores, of course, the substan- tial "biochemical industry" (book's term) which already exists and which is many decades old. Unfortunately, this limita- tion continues, with one exception, throughout the book. For readers of this journal such a viewpoint is especially in- appropriate. The technological exploita- tion of materials extracted from plant and animal tissues is not only centuries old, but it constitutes a major part of biotech- nology in the proper sense. After Nauman's limited but thoughtful introduction, Bungay, Clesceri, and Tsao discusses Microbial Cells and Enzymes. Here, a r(umber of basic concepts re- garding biocatalysis by cells and enzymes are combined with provocative insights. Although elementary in places, there are some real chestnuts here for the practi- tioners of bioprocess technology. Kleinstreuer follows with an Analysis of Biological Reactors. After a brief (7 pages, many figures and tables), informative summary of bioreactor types, we en- counter 23 pages devoted to the mathe- matical modeling of these units. The basic relationships employed have been pre- sented elsewhere much more completely, while the extensive mathematical develop- ment and modeling flowcharts and simu- lations which follow are,1 believe, a waste of paper. The next section (Biomass Refining) is by Tsao, Ladisch, and Bungay, who are true authorities on the subject. Their treat- ment is well-organized and clearly written, but it rehashes material presented 351

3 5 2 BOOK REVIEW much more completely elsewhere, fre- quently by these authors. This is, how- ever, the one section which argues against the general criticism noted earlier, namely that the volume is directed exclusively to "bioprocess" technology. Hanna's Applied Genetics for Biochemical Engineering: Recombinant DNA again suffers from the conflict between the needs of a short course and the norms for publishable material, at least at the level implied by the title. It is a workmanlike discussion at an introductory level. In Molecular Enzyme Engineering, Holmes offers a brief introduction to en- zyme structure and function. While this material is certainly not novel, the treat- ment is brief and clear. The author then moves on to areas which he believes will have a "major impact" on the enzyme in- dustry: (1) direct, chemical modification of enzymes to alter specificity, (2) the use of small, artificial enzymes to elucidate structure/function relationships, (3) syn- thesis of non-peptide enzyme-mimics, and (4) growing appreciation of the abilities of naturally occurring enzymes to demon- strate a much broader range of catalytic abilities than those which they exhibit in vivo. This chapter appeared to me to fulfill the promise of the book's title far more adequately than any other. Elander's brief (16 pages) discussion of Applied Genetics and Molecular Biology of ln- dustriM Microorganisms suffers from two se- rious ailments. First, the discussion is limited to the genetics of antibiotic-pro- ducing organisms. It ignores the many other important classes of "industrial mi- croorganisms." Furthermore, the author has presented essentially the same discus- sion in other, earlier contribution-type volumes. Again, this is clearly an impor- tant unit in the course, but publication-- or republication in this case--is not ap- propriate. The final three chapters are devoted to the recovery and purification of biologi- cally active molecules from either--or both--the cells in which they accumulate or the surrounding fluids. Belfort intro- duces this subject (Challenges and Opportu- nities in Product Recovery) in a well-crafted but somewhat unbalanced overview. Some methods receive only a minimal, descrip- tive treatment while others, apparently the author's favorites, are dealt with in great--and mathematically complex-- detail. Ladisch then discusses Separation by Sorption. This is a nicely organized and presented discussion of separation by liquid chromatography and, especially, scale-up of laboratory and pilot-level re- suits. Finally, Belfort returns with a com- prehensive overview of Membrane Separa- tion Technology. Perhaps I am only empha- sizing my own limited knowledge, but I found this chapter to be much more inclu- sive and well-balanced than the same au- thor's preceding one. So, we have a "book"--or more accu- rately an introduction plus nine indepen- dent treatments of topics which, with a couple of exceptions, relate only to one aspect of biotechnology, and hence, bio- chemical engineering. I can sum up my reaction quite simply: I would like to take the RPI course but I cannot justify buying the book! For readers of this journal, one of the first books entitled "Biochemical Engineering," that by F. C. Webb (Van Nostrand, London/New York, 1964), is a far better bet. Unfortunately it is now out of print but should be available in larger corporate and academic libraries.- ELMER L. GADEN, JR. Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Vir- ginia.