Platinum Metals Review - Volume 33, Issue 4, 1989

It is now 20 years since the publication of the anti-tumour activity of platinum compounds by Barnett Rosenberg and his colleagues. During this time platinum-based drugs have made a major contribution to cancer therapy with significant benefits for many patients. This article summarises the history of platinum agents in this field and indicates the current and possible future directions of research.

Catalytic combustion is a safe way of destroying volatile organic compounds produced during a variety of manufacturing and processing operations, while the ability to recover heat is an additional benefit.

Recent advances in the application of ruthenium tetroxide, lower-valent oxo ruthenates and osmium tetroxide are summarised here, with particular reference to uses or potential uses of these materials in the fine chemicals industry.

Palladium has a rich organometallic chemistry which has developed over the past twenty-five years. While palladium is not unique in its ability to carry out a wide range of carbon-carbon bond forming reactions, its versatility has resulted in an increasing effort being made towards the use of palladium reagents in organic synthesis in academic and industrial research laboratories. This will result in increased industrial applications of these compounds in the organic chemicals sector.

For some twenty years this Journal has reported advances in the application of platinum metals catalyst technology for the control of automobile exhaust gases. The first work was directed at reducing atmospheric pollution in Los Angeles, where climatic and topographic conditions, together with a high concentration of automobiles combined to create a clearly perceived problem. Since that time the use of pollution control catalysts for vehicle emission abatement has grown substantially. In Europe, popular concern about the effects of pollution is now being translated into legislation to protect the environment, so it is timely to re-examine the existing evidence of the atmospheric changes caused by motor vehicles, and from that to predict what may happen on a global scale in the future. It is suggested by the author, who was formerly Deputy Assistant Administrator for Mobile Source Air Pollution Control at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, that the latest catalyst technology must be applied worldwide, without delay, to prevent further major damage to the environment.