Customer Reviews

Classics in Spectroscopy: Isolation and Structure Elucidation of Natural Products

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This book is a fantastic collection of articles on the history, extraction, and spectroscopic identification of 30 natural products, including things like eugenol (clove oil), indigo, THC, and menthol. Each chapter includes the history of the natural product that the compound is isolated from, a laboratory method for extracting and purifying the substance, and detailed UV-VIS, IR, NMR, and mass spectra. The authors walk through the process of identifying the compounds and assigning each signal in all the NMR spectra in great detail. Each chapter ends with a set of questions on the nuance of the science, and answers are included in the back.
The book is lavishly illustrated in full color throughout, and includes relevant passages from authors ranging from classical antiquity to modern times. The literary passages are given in the original languages in the chapters, and translations are provided in the back.
The book is what a science textbook should be: engagingly well written, informative, and interesting. The book is written for chemists, and a thorough knowledge of organic chemistry will certainly help in understanding the procedures and spectra. However, the history sections can certainly be understood by anyone with a basic science education. This is a true classic that any chemist interested in natural products should have.