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Intermolecular Interactions: From Diatomics to Biopolymers, edited by

Bernard Pullman, John Wiley & Sons, Chichester, New York, Brisbane, Toronto,

1978, pp ix + 447, price 519-50.

This book is the second volume in the series: Perspectives in Quantum

Chemistry and Biochemistry, the aim of which is to provide an interdisciplin-

ary survey of recent developments in selected fields. The first volume

dealt with the study of intramolecular interactions - quantum mechanics of

molecular conformations, and this volume extends the subject to intermolecu-

lar interactions. The book comprises four reviews which illustrate the

achievements and possibilities of quantum mechanical techniques in this

field.

In Chapter 1, A.D. Buckingham reviews the theory of intermolecular

forces, and describes the dependence of the energy on the separation and

orientations of the molecules. Sections cover classification, long- and

short-range forces, the hydrogen bond and donor-acceptor interactions, the

effect of a medium, particular molecular interactions, and manifestations of

intermolecular forces. The second review, by P Claverie, covers elaboration

of approximate formulas for the interactions between large molecules and

applications in organic chemistry. Basic theory necessary for the derivation

of simplified formulae is given, the Rayleigh-SchrBdinger perturbation

treatment is analysed and treatments to overcome its deficiency are examined.

The derivation of the short-range first-order exchange term and three long-

range terms (electrostatic, polarisation and dispersion) is dealt with in

detail. Some applications of simplified formulas are also discussed. The

third chapter, by R Rein, deals with theoretical and experimental studies of

intermolecular interactions between nucleic acid components and their struc-

tural consequences. There is a brief review of the quantum mechanical analy-

sis of hydrogen bonding and a discussion of the methods for studying inter-

molecular interactions in large systems. Experimental results on interac-

tions of nucleic acid bases are discussed and environmental effects are

reviewed. Application to the analysis of genetic mechanisms, and the valid-

ity of the theoretical model, are also dealt with. Finally, P Schuster,

reviews the fine structure of the hydrogen bond. Initially he discusses the

present stage of quantum mechanical predictions of molecular properties.

Further sections deal with energies and wave functions of hydrogen bonded

complexes and crystals, the usefulness of energy partitioning, and possible

developments in the near future.

J.W.