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

Thalidomide is an oral drug marketed in the 1950s as a sedative and an anti-emetic during pregnancy that was removed from the market when its teratogenic side effects appeared in new born children due to inadequate tests to assess the drug4s safety. Recent studies evaluating the use of thalidomide in cancer and HIV diseases have sparked renewed interest. The electrochemical behavior of thalidomide on a glassy carbon electrode has been investigated using cyclic, differential and square-wave voltammetry in aqueous media at different pHs. The oxidation mechanism of thalidomide is an irreversible, adsorption-controlled process, pH dependent up to values close to the pKa and occurs in two consecutive charge transfer reactions. A mechanism of oxidation of thalidomide involving one electron and one proton to produce a cation radical, which reacts with water and yields a final hydroxylated product is proposed. The reduction of thalidomide is also a pH dependent, irreversible process and occurs in a single step, with the same number of electrons and protons transferred. The reduction mechanism involves the protonation of the nitrogen that bridges the two cyclic groups, and the product of the protonation reaction causes irreversible dissociation. Both thalidomide and the non electroactive oxidation and reduction products are strongly adsorbed on the glassy carbon electrode surface.

/pdf/electrochemical-behavior-of-thalidomide-at-a-glassy-carbon-c9ha08hqxd.pdf

Electrochemical Behavior of Thalidomide at a Glassy Carbon Electrode

http://www1.ci.uc.pt/pessoal/anabrett/pdfs/PDF-1984-1995/14-Bienzyme-BB.pdf

An electrochemical bienzyme membrane sensor for free cholesterol

http://www1.ci.uc.pt/pessoal/anabrett/pdfs/PDF-2011/159-Laponitas-ApClay.pdf

Laponite RD/polystyrenesulfonate nanocomposites obtained by photopolymerization

Theory is presented which predicts the linear sweep voltammetry behavior at the wall-jet electrode for a reversible couple. The scan rate and electrode geometry dependences are established, and hence the requirements for the measurement of true «steady state» hydrodynamic voltammograms are defined. Theory is found to be in good agreement with experiments conducted on the oxidation of the ferrocyanide anion in aqueous solution

/pdf/wall-jet-electrode-linear-sweep-voltammetry-5ayiy8vnds.pdf

Wall-jet electrode linear sweep voltammetry

The immobilization of glucose oxidase on hydrolyzed nylon-6,6 was studied. Various spacers were introduced on the support before the coupling of the enzyme. Best results were obtained when the membrane was covered with denatured bovine serum albumin (BSA) before spacer coupling and immobilization of glucose oxidase (GOD). The influence of various factors (pH, ionic strength, etc.) on the activity of the free and immobilized enzyme was investigated. It was found that the behavior of the fixed glucose oxidase and the free enzyme is very similar. The covalently immobilized enzyme had a lifetime of around 2 months (50% of initial activity).

Ana Maria Oliveira Brett

Papers

Electrochemical Behavior of Thalidomide at a Glassy Carbon Electrode

An electrochemical bienzyme membrane sensor for free cholesterol

Laponite RD/polystyrenesulfonate nanocomposites obtained by photopolymerization

Wall-jet electrode linear sweep voltammetry

Immobilization of glucose oxidase on nylon membranes and its application in a flow-through glucose reactor