The Language of Analytical Chemistry

Analytical chemists converse using terminology that conveys specific meaning to other analytical chemists. To discuss and learn analytical chemistry you must first understand its language. You are probably already familiar with some analytical terms, such as accuracy and precision, but you may not have placed them in their appropriate analytical context. Other terms, such as analyte and matrix, may be less familiar. This chapter introduces many important terms routinely used by analytical chemists. Becoming comfortable with these terms will make the material in the chapters that follow easier to read and understand. 

A process that provides chemical or physical information about the constituents in the sample or the sample itself. 

An analysis of a sample to find the identity, concentration, or properties of the analyte. 

An experimental determination of an analyte s chemical or physical properties. 

The first important distinction we will make is among the terms analysis, determination, and measurement. An analysis provides chemical or physical information about a sample. The components of interest in the sample are called analytes, and the remainder of the sample is the matrix. In an analysis we determine the identity, concentration, or properties of the analytes. To make this determination we measure one or more of the analyte s chemical or physical properties. 

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The target area of AnIML (http //animl.sourceforge.net/) is the handling of analytical data. The teams participating in AnIML development, sanctioned by ASTM under subcommittee E13.15, have not published a final recommendation yet, but the language promises to become one of the most important XML languages in the chemistry field. 

The ultimate goal of analytical chemistry is not to analyse chemicals per se but to solve problems couched in the language of society. Can we drink the water Can a children s playground be built on the waste site Does the patient have an over active thyroid [12]. Society also wants the answers to questions like these... 

The text comprises of 4 major areas viz. Soil Physics, Soil Chemistry, Fundamental Concepts of Instrumental Techniques and Fundamental Concepts of Analytical Chemistry. Each topic is presented in a lucid and concise manner furnishing details of reagent preparation and stepwise procedure, outlining precautions and additional notes wherever necessary. The principles have been discussed briefly and theories explained well with mathematical derivations and chemical equations as and when required. The analytical methods described in this text are either being widely used or have been accepted throughout as standard. Various methods have been explained in a simple and easily understandable language comprising of principle with equipments and apparatus, procedure, observations and calculations. 

The language of science, Lavoisier, maintained in his Methode de Nomenclature Chimique, was itself an analytical instrument. The system of chemical nomenclature that he devised gave us for every substance, in a word or two, a clean indication of its chemical nature and composition. That even after more than two centuries of further discovery since he devised this system, it has survived until today, with very little modification, is but a testament to his exceptional vision. Lavoisier s influence on the course of modern chemistry indeed cannot be overemphasized. 

In this chapter, we briefly describe the main principles and provide examples from the fleld of supramolecular chemistry devoted to potential analytical application. While in analytical science a chemical sensor is defined as a device that responds to a particular analyte, that is, ion or molecule of interest, in a selective way through a physical or chemical interaction, and can be used for qualitative or quantitative determination of the analyte , from the supramolecular chemistry perspective, the sensor is usually called the molecule or the material, for example, a polymer, used to test and apply the tools and lessons learned in the supramolecular chemistry studies. While from the purist s perspective the responsive molecules or materials should, perhaps, be more accurately called probes, chemical sensors, and so on to reserve the term sensor for the final devices, vide supra, the truth is that a large portion of the supramolecular studies refers to the actual molecules and calls these simply sensors. Thus, there is a potential for discrepancy between the analytical and supramolecular chemistry community language, of which the reader should be aware. We use the term sensor and chemical sensor interchangeably to refer to a molecule or material. 

Abstracts of analytical chemistry can be found in the general abstracting journals already described and in Analytical Abstracts (Fig. 27) published for the Society for Analytical Chemistry since 1954 as an independent publication, and previously issued as section C of British Abstracts and in the Analyst. This is a monthly publication with world coverage having annual author and subject indexes. Wherever possible authors addresses are included with indication of the language of the original article where this is not obvious. These excellent informative abstracts which are also available printed on one side only of the paper so as to be suitable for inclusion into reference systems are... 

Additionally, there are many papers published in non-English language journals, application-oriented journals (e.g. Clinical Chemistry) and conference proceedings. Analytical Abstracts and Chemical Abstracts will cover many of these. There are also the review journals Progress in Analytical Spectroscopy, Trends in Analytical Chemistry and Spectrochimica Acta Reviews. 

Gottschalk and Malissa attempted repeatedly to systemize chemical analysis. They introduced a symbolic iconic language, the SSSAC-system (Symbolic Synoptic System for Analytical Chemistry), but failed to get their system introduced. A large part of their problem was that the SSSAC-system could not be translated into a computer readable code. 

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