The Pharmacological Basis of Therapeutics A Textbook of Pharmacology, Toxicology and Therapeutics for Physicians and Medical Students. By Prof. Louis Goodman and Prof. Alfred Gilman. Pp. xiii + 1383. (New York: The Macmillan Company, 1941.) 50s. net.

The Pharmacological Basis of Therapeutics

There is a special reason for reviewing this book at this time: it is the 50th edition of a compendium that is known and used frequently in most chemical and physical laboratories in many parts of the world. Surely, a publication that has been published for 56 years, withstanding the vagaries of science in this century, must have had something to offer. There is another reason: while the book is a standard fixture in most chemical and physical laboratories, including those in medical centers, it is not as frequently seen in the laboratories of physician's offices (those either in solo or group practice). I believe that the Handbook can be useful in those laboratories. One of the reasons, among others, is that the various basic items of information it offers may be helpful in new tests, either physical or chemical, which are continuously being published. The basic information may relate

Handbook of Chemistry and Physics

Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy has become a mature and well-understood technique. It is now possible to acquire, validate, and quantitatively interpret the experimental impedances. This chapter has been addressed to understanding the fundamental processes of diffusion and faradaic reaction at electrodes. However, the most difficult problem in EIS is modeling the electrode processes, which is where most of the problems and errors arise. There is an almost infinite variety of different reactions and interfaces that can be studied (corrosion, coatings, conducting polymers, batteries and fuel cells, semiconductors, electrocatalytic reactions, chemical reactions coupled with faradaic processes, etc.) and the main effort is now being applied to understanding and analyzing these processes. These applications will be the subject of a second review in a forthcoming volume in this series.

Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy and its Applications

Electrochemical biosensors: Towards point-of-care cancer diagnostics

Self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) of alkanethiols and dialkanethiols on gold are key elements for building many systems and devices with applications in the wide field of nanotechnology. Despite the progress made in the knowledge of these fascinating two-dimensional molecular systems, there are still several “hot topics” that deserve special attention in order to understand and to control their physical and chemistry properties at the molecular level. This critical review focuses on some of these topics, including the nature of the molecule–gold interface, whose chemistry and structure remain elusive, the self-assembly process on planar and irregular surfaces, and on nanometre-sized objects, and the chemical reactivity and thermal stability of these systems in ambient and aqueous solutions, an issue which seriously limits their technological applications (375 references).

Self-assembled monolayers of thiols and dithiols on gold: new challenges for a well-known system

This much-needed, comprehensive text offers an introduction to electrochemistry. The book begins at an elementary level and progresses through to the most recent advances in this interdisciplinary subject. The first part introduces the fundamental principles of thermodynamics, kinetics, and mass transport associated with electrode reactions. The second part considers experimental methods that are available to study electrode and electrochemical processes, such as steady-state with forced convection, linear sweep, step/pulse voltametric techniques and impedance, modern surface analysis, and microscopic and spectroscopic procedures that complement the electrochemical information. The final part of the book discusses wide-ranging applications, including sensors, industrial electrolysis and batteries, corrosion studies, and the rapidly expanding field of bioelectrochemistry. Easily accessible appendices provide the necessary mathematics, principles of electrical circuits, and basics of digital simulation. The breadth of coverage insures that this volume will be valuable not only to students in chemistry, biochemistry, industrial chemistry, chemical engineering, and materials science, but to researchers needing proper introduction to electrochemistry.

Electrochemistry: Principles, Methods, and Applications

http://www1.ci.uc.pt/pessoal/anabrett/pdfs/PDF-2004/92%20-%20Catechin-ACA.pdf

Catechin electrochemical oxidation mechanisms

The mechanism of electrochemical oxidation of quercetin on a glassy carbon electrode has been studied using cyclic, differential pulse and square-wave voltammetry at different pH. It proceeds in a cascade mechanism, related with the two catechol hydroxyl groups and the other three hydroxyl groups which all present electroactivity, and the oxidation is pH dependent. Quercetin also adsorbs strongly on the electrode surface; and the final oxidation product is not electroactive and blocks the electrode surface. The oxidation of the catechol 3,4-dihydroxyl electron-donating groups, occurs first, at very low positive potentials, and is a two electron two proton reversible reaction. The hydroxyl group oxidized next was shown to undergo an irreversible oxidation reaction, and this hydroxyl group can form a intermolecular hydrogen bond with the neighboring oxygen. The other two hydroxyl groups also have an electron donating effect and their oxidation is reversible.

/pdf/electrochemical-oxidation-of-quercetin-4mslmkl2fp.pdf

Electrochemical Oxidation of Quercetin

An electrochemical nucleic acid (NA)-based biosensor is a biosensor that integrates a nucleic acid as the biological recognition element and an electrode as the electrochemical signal transducer. The present report provides concepts, terms, and methodology related to biorecognition elements, detection principles, type of interactions to be addressed, and con- struction and performance of electrochemical NA biosensors, including their critical evalua- tion, which should be valuable for a wide audience, from academic, biomedical, environ- mental, and food-testing, drug-developing, etc. laboratories to sensor producers.

/pdf/electrochemical-nucleic-acid-based-biosensors-concepts-terms-19wog305ub.pdf

Electrochemical nucleic acid-based biosensors: Concepts, terms, and methodology (IUPAC Technical Report)

http://www1.ci.uc.pt/pessoal/anabrett/pdfs/PDF-1984-1995/20-DNA-JEAC.pdf

Ana Maria Oliveira Brett

Papers

Electrochemistry: Principles, Methods, and Applications

Catechin electrochemical oxidation mechanisms

Electrochemical Oxidation of Quercetin

Electrochemical nucleic acid-based biosensors: Concepts, terms, and methodology (IUPAC Technical Report)

On the adsorption and electrochemical oxidation of DNA at glassy carbon electrodes