PREBPACH 
The knowledge that living cells contain sizeable amounts of apparently uncombined, 
readily-extractable amino acids came to be widely appreciated at the same time 
that rapid chromatographic methods ideally suited to their study were developed. 
The prompt application of these procedures to the examination of protein-free 
tissue extracts has led to the accumulation of a huge volume of observations con- 
cerned with the so-called free amino acids. Despite apparent interrelations to meta- 
bolic processes, such as protein synthesis and active transport which also received 
intensive experimental study in these years, there has as yet been no comprehensive 
effort to collect, organize and evaluate this information. Some of us who have partici- 
pated in various aspects of this work were acutely aware of the need for such a 
definitive summary and over the years have discussed numerous proposals to achieve 
this goal. 
In discussions with representatives of the Office of Naval Research, Dr. EUGENE 
ROBERTS proposed the solution which is represented by this volume: a conference 
of leading investigators at which much of the available information would be sum- 
marized, followed by publication of the formal and informal discussions. A tentative 
program, developed during discussions between Dr. EUGENE ROBERTS, Dr. GEORGE 
RouseEr and the editor, was enthusiastically received by many of the prospective 
participants, and was approved for support by the Office of Naval Research. En- 
couraged by these favorable responses, the committee, under the editor’s chairman- 
ship, formally undertook the organization of the symposium which was held at the 
City of Hope Medical Center on May 19-22, 1961 under the title Conference on Free 
Amino Acids. The program consisted of three days of prepared reports interspersed 
with informal discussions followed by a final half-day session devoted to two spon- 
taneous round-table discussions. 
Participants were encouraged to submit extensive accounts of the work they 
wished to discuss in the hope that this volume would serve as a guide to a major 
portion of the literature on free amino acids. This goal was achieved in many, but 
certainly not all, cases. Authors were also encouraged to submit for publication as 
much original chromatographic evidence as they felt was required to document their 
conclusions. In the past, many journals have been reluctant to publish photographs 
of original chromatograms with the result that observations in this field frequently 
have not been adequately documented. While justified partly by the high costs 
involved, this editorial judgement can lead to the publication of conclusions derived 
from technically unsound chromatographic evidence. The publishers of this volume 
are to be commended for their understanding of the necessity to present this evidence 
in a form which permits its evaluation by the reader. 
The function of the editor in this enterprise deserves comment. Participants 
were invited with the understanding that they would be given great latitude in the 
scope and method of presentation of their material. It seemed inappropriate, there- 
fore, to embark on a vigorous program of revision in an effort to attain unity of 
format or a more comprehensive treatment of the subject. Only the most extreme 
points of view and methods of presentation were modified, generally in the interests 
