Specialist Periodical Reports provide systematic and critical review coverage in major areas of chemical research. Compiled by teams of leading authorities in the relevant subject, the series creates a unique service for the active research chemist with regular critical in-depth accounts of progress in particular areas of chemistry. Subject coverage of all volumes is very similar and publication is on an annual or biennial basis. As EPR continues to find new applications in virtually all areas of modern science, including physics, chemistry, biology and materials science, this series caters not only for experts in the field, but also those wishing to gain a general overview of EPR applications in a given area.

Vitamin C is the first book to cover the history, chemistry, biochemistry, and medical importance of vitamin C and is the first to provide an in-depth, interdisciplinary study of this essential and fascinating compound. The book provides a comprehensive and systematic account of the vitamin C story, fully surveying the history of scurvy and how its cure led to the suggestion, discovery, and isolation of the vitamin, later named L-ascorbic acid. It describes in detail the vitamin's structure determination, synthesis and manufacture, and its oxidation products, derivatives and related compounds. Its key biochemical roles are fully categorized and explained, and the medical importance of the vitamin, including the recent use of so-called megadoses, is thoroughly discussed. Vitamin C will be of interest to a very wide readership and will provide useful background information and inspiration for students at various levels. It will also be relevant to the interested chemist or lay person, as well as those carrying out research in this area.