ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY

• Analytical chemistry is the study of the separation, identification, and quantification of the chemical components of natural and artificial materials
• Analytical chemistry characterizes the composition of matter qualitatively (what is present) and quantitatively (how much is present)
• A branch of chemistry that deals with the development and use of techniques for chemical measurement
• Chemical analysis may be qualitative or quantitative
• Qualitative analysis reveals the identity of the elements and compounds in a sample
• Qualitative analysis gives an indication of the identity of the chemical species in the sample
• Types of qualitative analysis methods include wet chemistry (precipitation, extraction, and distillation), chemical tests, analysis of cations, analysis of anions, and flame tests
• Quantitative analysis indicates the amount of each substance in a sample
• Analytes are the components of a sample that are to be determined
• Quantitative analysis determines the amount of one or more of these components
• The separation of components is often performed prior to analysis
• Analytical chemistry plays a role in various scientific disciplines such as drugs and pharmaceutical analysis, clinical laboratories, forensic medicine, chemicals and cosmetics, environmental analysis, and research areas in pharmacy, chemistry, biochemistry, and biology
• Blood analysis is used to diagnose and treat illness
• Quantitative determination of elements in food and their nutritional value
• Analysis of steel during production permits adjustments in concentrations to achieve desired properties
• Farmers use quantitative analysis of plants and soils
• Medical technologists identify variants of Covid-19 present in liquid samples
• Quantitative analytical methods include gravimetric methods, volumetric methods, electroanalytical methods, and spectroscopic methods
• Gravimetric methods determine the mass of the analyte or related compound
• Volumetric methods measure the volume of a solution containing sufficient reagent to react completely with the analyte
• Spectroscopic methods are based on the interaction between electromagnetic radiation and analyte atoms or molecules
• Steps in any quantitative analysis include choosing a method, acquiring the sample, processing the sample, eliminating interferences, calibrating and measuring concentration, calculating results, and evaluating results by estimating reliability
• Sampling is the process of collecting a small mass of a material that accurately represents the bulk of the material being sampled
• Replicate samples improve the quality of results and provide a measure of their reliability
• Interferences must be eliminated before measurements are made
• Calibration is the process of determining the proportionality between analyte concentration and a measured quantity
• Analytical results are complete only when their reliability has been estimated