Iyengar (principal investigator, US National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD) emphasizes the fact that biological trace element research is a multidisciplinary science and requires a combination of biological insight and analytical awareness in planning investigations. After introducing the subject he deals with physiological and anatomical features of biomedical specimens, the biological basis for selection of specimens, problems and methods in the elemental analysis of biological systems and materials, quality control in research, and reference values for trace elements in human tissues and body fluids. Volume 2 is due to be published in December 1989. Annotation copyright Book News, Inc. Portland, Or.
The purpose of this volume is to emphasize the fact that biological trace element research is a multidisciplinary science which requires a prudent combination of biological insight and analytical awareness. The text frequently stresses that accurate measurements on biologically and analytically "valid" samples hold the key for success in future investigations. It reminds the analytical scientists and the life sciences researchers that their perceptions should extend beyond conventional limits - namely, the former as generators of data and the latter as interpreters of those findings. This book enables the reader to understand the intricacies of elemental composition studies in biological systems, and also provides a valuable source of information to biologists, biochemists, physicians, nutritionists and related scientific workers who intend to draw meaningful conclusions from the analytical findings.
