Book dossier

Boron science

by Narayan S. Hosmane

"Boron has made a significant impact in our lives through its quiet use in fertilizers, fungicides, soaps, detergents, and heat-resistant glassware. Boron Science: New Technologies and Applications addresses the applications of boron in chemistry, industry, medicine, and pharmacology by explaining its role in problems such as catalysis and hydroboration as well as its use in superconductors, materials, magnetic/nonmagnetic nanoparticles, and medical applications including cancer therapy.Illustrating the practical versatility of boron, the 29 chapters are divided into seven major sections:Boron for Living: MedicineBoron for Living: Health and NutritionBoron for Living: RadioisotopeBoron for Living: Boron Neutron Capture TherapyBoron for Electronics: OptoelectronicsBoron for Energy: Energy Storage, Space, and Other ApplicationsBoron for Chemistry and Catalysis: Catalysis and Organic TransformationsMore than just an updated compilation of progress in the applied science of boron, this book is a tribute to the legions of workers who have spent years conducting groundbreaking studies. The book celebrates these scientists and their prot©♭g©♭s, who together transformed boron science into the exciting and growing area it is today. "-- "Preface What is boron? The question itself may not seem very significant to many people, their introduction to the word "boron" could come as the butt of a joke; Conan O'Brien made jokes about boron (http:// www.wired.com/wiredscience/2009/02/conanchemistry/) by calling it either "Boring Boron" or "Boron Moron." Many people may connect boron to borax, which is one of its natural sources. Some of us with longer memories might recall a popular television show called "Death Valley Days," aired in the 1950s, narrated by a young Ronald Reagan and sponsored by the 20 Mule Team Borax. Although boron is one of the closest neighbors to carbon in the periodic table, it has neither gained the importance nor the popularity of carbon. But boron is not just about borax. How many of us know that a regular intake of boron can lessen the chance of prostate cancer? How many of us know that boron plays a direct and critical role in combating cancer through a treatment called boron neutron capture therapy (BNCT)? If you were among those fortunate attendees of Professor M. Frederick Hawthorne's lecture at UCLA, titled "From Mummies to Rockets and on to Cancer Therapy," you had the opportunity to explore the power of boron chemistry. Boron has made a significant impact in our lives through its use in fertilizers, fungicides, soaps, and detergents as well as many household glassware utensils; thus boron is silently present everywhere. Those involved in boron chemistry are beginning to realize that this silence needs to be broken. This book, titled Boron Science: New Technologies and Applications, attempts to do just that"--