X PREFACE 



principle that the fundamental mechanisms and problems are the same and 

 that workers in one field can learn a great deal from results obtained in 

 other fields. 



The writing of the first volume and the preparation for the succeeding 

 volumes have involved the accumulation of approximately 16.000 references, 

 and several thousand more will be added before the work is completed. A 

 rigorous selection of the material and the examples to be presented is thus 

 necessary. At the present time over 1,400 publications on enzyme and meta- 

 bolic inhibition appear each year, and this figure must be increased if one 

 includes the work on drugs and chemotherapeutic agents that act in some 

 manner by altering metabolism. The use of inhibitors has increased markedly 

 since 1950. Not only are the older inhibitors applied more widely and in- 

 tensively, but each year one sees with interest the development of new inhi- 

 bitors. It is interesting to survey by decades the number of publications 

 on the two common inhibitors, malonate and iodoacetate. The accompanying 



Number of publications 



Decade 



1880-1890 

 1890-1900 

 1900-1910 

 1910-1920 

 1920-1930 

 1930-1940 

 1940-1950 

 1950-1960 



table shows these figures taking into account only biologically oriented 

 work. The large number of papers on iodoacetate between 1930 and 1940 

 was due to the demonstration of its interesting effects on nniscle and yeast, 

 and subsequently on the glycolytic pathway. Most enzyme inhibitors would 

 provide similar histories. The marked upsurge in reports since 150 is evident 

 and it is also clear that this acceleration has by no means ceased. Considering 

 the tremendous amount of work that has been done with inhibitors and their 

 importance in many fields, it is quite remarkable that no book on them has 

 yet appeared; indeed, it is uncommon to find reviews or monographs on the 

 individual inhibitors. 



