114 Book reviews

D1 considers coatings and linings and offers a variety of options mainly centred around epoxy resin chemistry including a catoamine (sic) cured epoxy. The author has failed to mention the use of low temperature isocyanate curing polymers, and urethane systems are not extensively mentioned.

I turned to the section on Corrosion Fatigue of mild steel and found that there was little or no mention of the recent offshore experience and extensive research produced during the period of oil and gas exploration in the North Sea.

In the section on marine cathodic protection, reference is made to the ‘recent’ work on the use of mercury additions to activate aluminium sacrificial anode alloys, and quotes the Dow Chemical work published in 1974. Further, indium-containing aluminium alloys are dis- missed as being unsuitable, even though 23 of the 56 offshore structures in the North Sea are, at this very moment, successfully protected with such systems.

I am forced to conclude that this publication is at best a scholarly document of major historic interest where much of the information cited is at least twenty years old. At worst, the publication in places is misleading and untrue.

D. Scantlebury

The uses of life. A history of biotechnology. By Robert Bud, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1993, xvii + 299 pp., price: E30.00. ISBN 0 521 37240 8

One’s immediate reaction on encountering this book was ‘A history of biotechnology, already!’ but reading it convinces one that such a history is by no means previous. Robert Bud is Head of the Life and Environmental Sciences Group of the Science Museum in London and has devoted a significant part of his time to documenting the development of biotechnology and acquiring appro- priate exhibits. This product of his efforts is well- produced, satisfying and enjoyable to read.

Inevitably, there is more than one strand of history through the volume. One is the coining and gradual acceptance of the term ‘biotechnology’, another is the development of the combination of science, the technology and engineering to produce what is now recognised as biotechnology. Nevertheless, the text develops chrono- logically, starting with the origins and concept of ‘zymotechnology’, showing the key importance of the application of scientific knowledge to the production of beer and agriculturally-derived products in the late nineteenth century. This reviewer found the chapter tracing the evolution of biotechnology from zymotech- nology most enlightening: with ‘zymotechnology ’ describ- ing applied microbiology, ‘ biotechnology ’ was first used

(by the Hungarian agricultural engineer Karl Ereky in 19 17) more broadly, covering all products derived from living organisms. The varied use of ‘biotechnology’ is traced through the middle decades of the century until 1958 when Elmer Gaden, very much influenced by the Swedish microbiologist Carl-Goren Heden, changed the name of his journal to ‘Biotechnology and Bioengineer- ing’, thus anchoring the word in its now-familiar area. Meanwhile the development is described of applied microbiology and biochemical engineering during and after the two World Wars and the parallel evolution of relevant scientific philosophy.

The second half of the book covers material that is more generally familiar simply because it is more recent. The development of key products of biotechnology, of institutes active in biotechnology and of national attitudes to biotechnology is covered very entertainingly, the text enlivened by anecdotes provided by individuals active at the time (most of whom are still active). It is not until Chapter 8 that the ‘wedding’ of biotechnology with genetics is described: one of the values of history books is that they put things in perspective! The final chapter deals with recent history, the evolution, successes and failures of biotechnology companies and the develop- ment of popular opposition to biotechnology.

There is a bibliography, and copious notes give the sources of information and anecdotes. This is no dry history, though: one of the joys of reading the book is the reference to unexpected sources, such as ‘Lady Chatterley’s Lover’, ‘1066 and All That’ and ‘Star Trek’ to illustrate contemporary social attitudes. There are flashes of humour: many readers will be surprised that quarrels between the MRC and the SERC ‘would normally have been settled in the men’s room of an appropriate club’.

This book should be in the library of any institution involved in the teaching of biotechnology and may well find a ready sale among active biotechnologists keen to discover if they receive a mention.

C. Bucke

Defoaming. Theory and industrial applications. Edited by P. R. Garrett, Marcel Dekker Inc., New York, 1993, viii + 327 pp., price: UK E135.00. ISBN 0 8247 8770 6

Unwanted foam generation in various contexts is common, and often, because of the complexity of the systems involved, the means of foam control has been an empirical art, both in terms of the materials used, their formulation and the dosage. There is now however a growing body of fundamental understanding of the mechanisms of antifoam action, although this aspect of colloid and surface chemistry is not well-represented in

Book reviews 115

text books. The present volume is therefore welcome, combining as it does an overview of the modern understanding of foam control and a number of very practical articles.

The book is divided into chapters contributed by different authors and following an opening contribution by Garrett (who has also edited the book), each of the remaining 7 chapters deals with antifoams in a given industry or application. The chapter by Garrett is a scholarly, timely and thorough review of the mode of action of the various classes of antifoams in aqueous systems. It constitutes over a third of the book (1 17 pages) and will be of interest to those involved in background research in foam control. The remaining chapters are very much more applied and practical in approach, although the contribution of Callaghan on antifoams in the oil industry (the only contribution on non-aqueous foams) does cover some fundamental aspects of foam stability. There are chapters covering the application of antifoams in the paper industry, pharmaceuticals (a short chapter on abdominal antifoams), textile dyeing, detergent products, paints and (combined in a single chapter on surfactant antifoams) dishwashing and sugar beet processing.

Those involved in practical aspects of antifoams will find much detail. There is a wide reference to the patent literature but, apart from the chapter by Garrett, reference to work later than the mid to late 1980's is absent. If this does not worry you this will be a good book to have.

R. Aveyard

Glycoconjugates: composition, structure, and function. Edited by Howard J. Allen & Edward C. Kisailus, Marcel Dekker, New York, 1992, vii+685 pp., price: $195. ISBN 0 8247 8431 6

In 19 chapters this book provides an excellent overview of the composition, biosynthesis, function and structure of the carbohydrate chains of glucoconjugates from higher organisms. The structures of the three major classes--glycoproteins, glycolipids and proteoglycans- are summarised. Schachter and Brockhausen provide valuable guidance around the maze of reactions involved in the biosynthesis of 0-linked carbohydrate chains, and other solid contributions describe the assembly and processing of N-linked chains, inhibitors of these bio- synthetic reactions, and the molecular biology of glycosyl- transferases and glycosidases. However, the chapter on synthetic glycoconjugates by Lee and Lee highlights a major problem for a book as ambitious as this volume: the bibliography ends at 1987 and throughout the book there are a few post-1990 references. Four final chapters describe plant, microbial, invertebrate and galactose-

binding vertebrate lectins, and an extremely readable contribution by Weibel reviews the receptors which capture and internalise glycoproteins programmed for degradation. Other chapters review recent work on the function of the carbohydrate chains in secretory and membrane-bound glycoproteins, the latter by Fukuda with a strong emphasis on the polylactosaminyl system.

The emphasis of this book is on the biochemistry and biology of carbohydrate and carbohydrate-binding proteins. The section on structure determination is weaker, with a terse chapter by Laine on mass spectro- metry and a brief review of NMR methods by Serriani, whilst a well organised contribution from Kobata describes chemical and enzymic methods for structure determination. Some topics which have become important in recent years, such as the use of high pressure anion exchange chromatography and the structure and function of glycophosphatidylinositol membrane anchors, are not covered.

Despite a large number of typographical errors and irritating inconsistencies-four methods to quote refer- ences are used-this book is highly recommended as a core reference text and provides excellent coverage of the glycoconjugate field.

C. Jones

Radiation curing, science and technology. Edited by S. P. Pappas, Plenum Press, New York and London, 1992, xiv + 448 pp., price $95.00. ISBN 0 306 43999 9

In a time of stilted economic growth, the application of radiation curing continues to increase. Nevertheless, as the editor points out in the preface, radiation curing is not being exploited as much as it might be. As a consequence one aim of the book is to integrate fundamental and practical aspects of the topic, as well as identifying the directions and challenges for future studies.

Chapter 1 provides an overview of the subject, and this is followed by a comprehensive chapter on inorganic and organometallic initiators. Some of the compounds discussed are now finding commercial application. The third chapter is a very authoritative account of calori- metric analysis of photopolymerisation and is essential reading for anyone contemplating using photo DSC. The fourth chapter reviews a kinetic analysis and performance of UV curable coatings. It is a rather personal view but nevertheless very useful. Some readers may take issue with some of the assessments of the value of some techniques. Two very valuable chapters follows on photopolymerisable silicones and vinyl ethers. These chapters provide as a bonus an excellent survey of the patent literature. Chapters on the application of radiation