Abstract
This massive reference work is a wealth of information with respect to drug and chemical substance analytical knowledge. The second edition, known as Clarke’s Isolation and Identification of Drugs, was published in 1986 and this is a much needed update of that publication. The first edition, which was first published in 1969 and again in 1974, was entitled Clarke’s Isolation and Identification of Drugs in Pharmaceuticals, Body Fluids, and Post Mortem Material; (An Extra Pharmacopoeia Companion Volume). It was written with the intent of being a textbook and general reference about identification and analysis of drugs. The scope of the book has changed to reflect a vastly increased number of topics, including pesticides, drugs of abuse, as well as veterinary drugs; hence the name of the two volumes is aptly termed Clarke’s Analysis of Drugs and Poisons, 3rd Edition. It still retains an entire volume dedicated as a general textbook for analytical chemistry, whereas the remaining volume is a series of 1730+ monographs summarizing a considerable amount of analytical and other relevant data on each presented chemical. This series of publications was originally conceived by Eustace George Coverly Clarke and has become the industry standard reference utilized in analytical laboratories worldwide. In fact, the book is referred to as “Clarke” because it is so well known in virtually all respectable laboratories as a resource for analytical testing procedures.
This latest edition includes more than 400 new entries than the second edition. There have been many more drugs developed in the intervening timeframe; however, the authors state that the selection of entries was made based upon the frequency of occurrence in hospitals, sports, drug monitoring, and environmental exposures.
Volume 1 is a compendium of methodological and analytical techniques that spans 31 chapters including such titles as “Hospital Toxicology” (Chapter 1), which concerns the treatment of individuals admitted to the Hospital Emergency Room with suspected poisoning to a chapter entitled “Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy” (Chapter 25) in which this powerful methodology and use are detailed. The specifics of high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) are clearly detailed in the chapter of the same name (Chapter 29), whereas the issue of drugs in modern sports is discussed in Chapter 9, “Drug Abuse in Sports.” Many of the newly emerging techniques that do not have a large body of historical scientific data behind them are included in “Emerging Techniques” (Chapter 31). This chapter includes discussions on genomics, proteomics, chip-based microsystems for DNA sequencing, and a wide variety of new technologies that are being applied or will be applied to the discipline of identifying and analyzing drugs and poisons. This volume also contains a chapter addressing toxicology and pharmacology entitled “Pharmacokinetics and Metabolism” (Chapter 12). This chapter is a review of drug pharmacokinetics and is an excellent summary of the importance of ADME in the analysis of drugs and poisons. However, aside from this chapter, there is only brief mention of these critical data in most of the monographs which may be an unfortunate oversight by the editors for toxicologists utilizing this as a reference.
Volume 2 contains about 1330 revised monographs from the second edition and over 400 new entries of drugs and other various chemical substances in this latest version. Each entry is reasonably consistent in format including various aspects of chemical detection (CAS No., Recommended International Non-proprietary name [rINN], a variety of physical factors such as dissociation constant, partition coefficient, and color test, and various qualitative testing procedures that would assist the analytical chemist in identifying the material). There is a paucity of information relative to therapeutic dose, toxicity, or regulatory information, which is, again, a disappointing oversight on the part of the editors. For instance, the monograph on the classic drug thalidomide—one of the most notorious drugs known to man—has only a single sentence stating that there are “teratogenic effects when administered to women early in pregnancy.” This is more than an understatement about a drug that essentially re-wrote the FDA testing regulations in the 1960s. The classic effects of phocomelia are not mentioned. The section on Disposition in the Body also has a mere two sentences describing metabolic fate and effects of this material. Lastly, there is no reference listed for further clinical, pharmacological, or toxicological review of thalidomide. Although the book cannot be all things to all people, it is clearly wanting in some areas of pharmacokinetics and toxicology. The editors could have easily referenced primary references and reviews in each monograph that could have at least pointed the reader to critical articles about each monograph that could not be covered in the text of an analytical chemistry work. On the other hand, some listings do have extensive data (i.e., theophylline) and one wonders how the decision was made to not include data in some and retain data in others. It certainly was not always made based upon the available data in the literature. There is also scant information on the exciting new quantitative techniques presented in Volume I. There are quantitative sections found throughout the monographs; however, many of the methods discussed in Volume I were not included in the monographs. This reviewer cannot be sure whether the literature simply has a paucity of these newer data or the monographs were not as complete as one would have hoped.
Lastly, I was somewhat dismayed in trying to find some basic information concerning drugs recently on the forefront of the scientific news such as Vioxx and Celebrex. Neither monograph had any reference to the potential cardiovascular problems noted in as early as 2001 by Mukherjee et al. (Mukherjee, D., Nissen, S. E., and E. J. Topol. 2001. Risk of cardiovascular events associated with selective COX-2 inhibitors. JAMA: 286:954–959). Further, it would be helpful if they editors had included some cross-reference coordinating the proprietary names with the chemical names. The only places in the entire two-volume work that either of these two very newsworthy drug names is included are in the subject index and the monographs themselves. This, of course, could be easier to locate with a digitized version of the book; however, I had only the print version to evaluate. One would have to surmise that with the speed of pharmacology and analytical advances in the milieu of current science, this volume will have to be updated on a more regular basis than once every 17 years.
In summary, this book makes a substantial contribution to our understanding of analytical chemical methodology in the laboratory. In spite of the few shortcomings noted above, the test of time and the sheer magnitude of the data collected in one place make this an incomparable reference book that is mandatory for every chemistry laboratory. Volume I would be an excellent text for selected readings in a graduate course in analytical, qualitative and/or quantitative chemistry. Although it lacks discussion and/or adequate references in areas of regulations, pharmacology and toxicology, Volume II is an excellent chemistry reference work and will again establish itself as one of the premier analytical chemistry texts now available.