Pharmacy Education, June 2004 Vol. 4 (2), pp.
121122
Book Review
Clarkes Analysis of Drugs and Poisons
3rd Edition. Edited by A.C. Moffat, M.D. Osselton and B. Widdop, (Eds)
ISBN 0 85369 473 7. Published by Pharmaceutical Press, London. 2003.
V1 648pages, V2 1632pages, Price 350.00.
In 1963, a need for a definitive tome on drugs and
poisons was identified, and the original form of
Clarkes Analysis of Drugs and Poisons was developed
by George Clarke, a toxicologist at the Royal
Veterinary College in 1969.* The 2nd edition was
published in 1986, and named Clarkes isolation and
identification of drugs, which, in keeping with the 1st
edition, was a single volume. The 3rd edition,
somewhat inevitably, is too large to be catered for in
a single volume and so comes as a two volume set,
and this is a key strength of the new edition. This
latest edition now includes poisons in the title to
more accurately reflect its content. Volume 1 contains
31 chapters, 13 of which cover the underlying theory
behind the most common analytical toxicology
techniques (IR, UV Vis, NMR, MS, TLC and
others) and 18 of which deal with the application
of analytical toxicology techniques (postmortem
toxicology, alcohol impairment, workplace drug
testing, hair saliva analysis and many more). Volume
2 contains over 1,730 drug monographs compared to
1,300 monographs in the 2nd edition and 800 in the
first. The monographs contained in the third edition
include 400 new ones, the remainder having been
revised. Somewhat inevitably, the 3rd edition is also
supplied with a supplemental CD-ROM although
this was unavailable for review at the time of writing.
Moreover, there is an online version accessible
by subscription. These new media approaches are
likely to be exceptionally valuable tools for users of
the book, with key data being available at the click of
the mouse. Most users of this book will either
tend to consult Volume 1 or Volume 2, but few
*The history of Clarkes analysis of drugs and poisons is succinctly outlined in the following article: Moffat, T. The Pharmaceutical Journal
272 (2004) 29.
ISSN 1560-2214 print/ISSN 1477-2701 online q 2004 Taylor & Francis Ltd
DOI: 10.1080/15602210410001715617
will use both in equal proportions, and I see
this partitioning of the material as a valuable change
to the format.
The stated readership of the book includes forensic
crime laboratories, toxicologists and other such
organizations, but curiously not university schools
of pharmacy, although one could argue that no
school of pharmacy should be without one. I have
been using the 2nd edition of this book for 10 years
and find it to be an outstandingly good reference
book, catering for a wide range of biomedical drug
analysis and provides analytical data for more than
1,300 individual drugs. I also find it invaluable for
providing examples for use in teaching, and some of
the material is ideal for case study type examination
questions. Current trends towards applied courses
such as forensic science, pharmaceutical sciences,
toxicology and so forth simply increase the utility of
Clarkes book which contained excellent chapters on
these subjects for which it was not always easy to
find good textbooks. Many reference books of
Clarkes ilk are underused in terms of dipping into
for interesting real life examples when writing
examination questions, enhancing lecture notes
with relevant case studies and generally making
lectures more captivating. The 3rd edition of
Clarkes is even more absorbing than the 2nd, and
on several occasions I have found myself becoming
engrossed in the fascinating science described in
Volume 1 (rather than getting on and writing this
review).
As stated, Volume 2 of Clarkes contains the
monographs. Volume 1 focuses on the analytical
122 M.H. SOSABOWSKI
toxicology techniques, with the first few chapters
devoted to specific areas of analysis such as
hospital/forensic/postmortem toxicology, drugs in
sport, hair and saliva analysis and more. The section
on drug abuse in sport is certainly more topical now
than it was when the 1st edition was published. I am
unsure as to why the text is notionally divided into
horseracing and everything else. I was surprised
more space was not devoted to the misuse of
erythropoietin in humans since for some years it has
been an issue in cycling, it is however mentioned in
passing with particular reference to racehorses.
The same could be said of nandralone and THG
although in fairness their misuse in sport has only
become recently topical and without doubt, new
editions of tomes such as Clarkes will have a lead
time more likely to be measured in years rather than
months.
Chapters 21 31 deal with standard analytical
techniques, and one of the key strengths of Clarkes
approach is that each technique is explained from
first principles, and each chapter is generously
endowed with helpful diagrams and many relevant
examples of the application of each technique.
There is a welcome new chapter toward the end of
Volume 1, entitled Emerging Techniques, which as the
title suggests, focuses on technique with potential
future use to the analytical scientist, or new
applications of existing techniques. Techniques
described in this chapter include multiwavelength
ultraviolet spectrophotmetric method, emission and
ultrasound spectroscopy, a section on high through-
put screening (including radioligand binding
and fluorescence techniques), micro total analysis
systems/chip-based microsystems, genomics/
proteomics and microdiaysis for clinical monitoring.
In todays rapidly evolving analytical environment
this chapter is indeed an attribute to the book giving
the reader an insight to the newest analytical
techniques.
A key strength of Clarke, as it is affectionately
known, is not so much the sections that one might
expect to find within, but the ones that you
would not expect and then suddenly find that
you require. For example, I was intrigued by the
serendipitously named TICTAC index, which deals
with tablet identification, and includes amongst
other things, identification of confectionery which
might be mistaken for drugs. Further intrigue was
supplied when I read that the TICTAC index
contains over 100 different kinds of Smarties (I can
only think of nine).
In summary, the latest edition of Clarkes includes
the best elements of its predecessors and more,
providing a first class almanac for the analytical
scientist. The content is comprehensive, absorbing
and layout is well planned and executed. Without
doubt, this volume will be a much well
thumbed institution in any serious analytical
laboratory and will assist generations of scientists
in years to come.
MICHAEL H. SOSABOWSKI
School of Pharmacy & Biomolecular Sciences,
University of Brighton