J. Electroanal. Chem., 161 (1984) 213-215 Elsevier Sequoia S.A., Lausanne - Printed in The Netherlands

Book reviews

213

Membrane Mimetic Chemistry. J.M. Chichester, 1982, xi + 522 pp., £46.75.

Fendler. Wiley-Interscience, New York,

Professor J.M. Fendler has introduced the term "membrane mimetic chemistry" for systems some of which simulate the properties of a biological membrane (monolayer at air /water interfaces, bilayer lipid membranes etc.) while the others mimic the properties of membrane-active substances (for example, synthetic macro- cyclic polyethers function as ionophores in a similar manner as valinomycin, nonactin etc.). In thirteen chapters of his book the following topics are discussed: micelles, reversed micelles and similar systems, monolayers, bilayer lipid membranes, liposomes, host-guest systems, polyelectrolytes and their applications in enzyme chemistry, study of chemical reactions and solar energy conversion.

The chapters dealing with subjects to which the author has contributed himself are dealt with rather thoroughly, in particular Chapter 3 on surfactants in apolar solvents, Chapter 6 on vesicles and Chapters 11 and 12 on reactivity control and synthetic applications. On the other hand some other topics have been treated in a very brief or unbalanced way (Chapter 4, 5 and 7). Thus, the chapter on bilayer lipid membranes does not go much beyond Tien's monograph (1974). Chapter 7 on macrocyclic ligands should require a deeper treatment of the nature of the host-guest interaction. The recently described interesting macrocylic compounds like speleates and other species from Lehn's school, Simon's ligands for ion-selective electrodes, Sargeson's sepulchrates, to mention only a few, have not been noted. The basic work on cyclic polyethers by Pedersen and Frensdorff is mentioned only marginally on p. 190. The reader should be cautious reading the equations as they contain an excessive number of misprints.

On the whole, although the presentation of the material is sometimes rather unbalanced it will serve as an acceptable introduction to a very interesting subject.

J. K O R Y T A J. Heyrovsk~r Institute, Prague

Electronics for the Modern Scientist. P.B. Brown, G.N. Franz and H. Moraff. Elsevier Biomedical Press, Amsterdam, 1982, xii + 496 pp., Dfl.85.00.

Many of the impressive advances in electrochemical and electronalytical research in the pastdecade have not only paralleled the staggering rate of development of the electronics industry but have depended heavily on these developments for their success. In order to understand and exploit modern instrumentation properly, some fundamental knowledge of modern electronics and systems analysis is, for the modern research worker, now an essential part of his background. Sadly, many still lack this training and either grossly underexploit the possibilities offered by the

214

modern apparatus or are unqualified to specify or design an up to data system realistically for their own use.

This book is a textbook for an electronics course which the authors suggest might last two terms. It does not treat at all the practical aspects of electronics and, at the outset, the preface clearly states that "a principles" approach will be followed giving the key concepts to the student with sufficient material to enable him to read more specialised textbooks of particular interest. The basic philosophy is in principle admirable but the resulting "opus" is, from some points of view, less satisfactory.

The general choice of material is good. The book starts almost at zero with basics, circuit elements and network analysis and then treats the fundamentals of semicon- ductors devices. There are some notable omissions here; Mos, Vmos, thyristors, triacs and hex-fets are ignored although they are the basis for many of the most recent advances. Maybe they are too "practical" for inclusion or betray a premature ageing of the text. On the other hand some of the more useful short cuts to circuit design universally employed by designers are retained. The chapters on signals and systems is well presented and is much clearer than that found in standard texts. There is clearly a lack of cross-referencing between these early chapters and the next four on analogue design, digital devices, waveform generation and signal condition- ing and digital processing. While the first two are reasonably straightforward except for the description of Veitch diagrams which is not at all clear, the latter pair leave much to be desired even at a "principles" level. I defy anyone to design a good filter from the description in the text without prior experience. Timing diagrams are all so simple and the problems associated with most IC's, glitches, timing delays, front triggering, race conditions etc. which impose strict limits on designers, are virtually ignored. In addition the r61e of the timing diagram in aiding design is very much underemphasized. For anyone who has designed systems, this is the first step in any design of complex digital or hybrid systems in real time. The last chapter, while good in intention, I find naive in practice and apart from the definition of the noun "transduction", a word I find hard on the ears and infinitely less preferable to the traditional word transducer, offers little to the readers in spite of the veritable flood of new devices appearing on the market.

Throughout the book there are useful worked examples in the text and to each chapter is appended a number of problems (for which there are no hints or answers in the book) and a bibliography for further reading.

I leave this book with mixed feelings. It is clear that there is a need for a book that starts at fundamentals and avoids the theoretical labyrinths usually found in textbooks treating material at this level and this may fill just such a need. However, if this encourages others to try this exercise, two basic problems have to be solved in the creation of such a book. In addition to the selection of material and its integration into a whole, the fine balance between principle and practice and the inbuilt ageing of the material in the light of the advancing fields of electronic devices, must be diligently sought.

ROBERT REEVES Meudon