Analytical chemistry is the branch of chemistry that develops and applies methods to determine the identity, quantity and purity of the components of a chemical sample, ranging from classical techniques such as titration and gravimetric analysis to modern instrumental methods including mass spectrometry, chromatography and spectroscopy. The discipline underlies quality control across the pharmaceutical, food, environmental and forensic sciences, since accurately identifying and measuring what a substance actually contains is a prerequisite for nearly every other branch of chemistry and for regulatory testing. Advances in instrumentation through the twentieth century allowed analytical chemists to detect substances at increasingly minute concentrations, down to parts per billion or below.
Facts
Central QuestionWhat a sample is made of and how much of each component it contains, whether by classical titration or modern instrumental methods. 1 ScopeAnalytical chemistry develops and applies methods to identify the chemical composition of materials and quantify the amounts of components in a mixture. 1 SignificanceIn the age of big data, analytical chemistry has become central, alongside chemometrics and bioinformatics, to interpreting results from high throughput techniques such as gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. 1 Connections
Founded By
Source Kirchhoff and Bunsen on Spectroscopy (ChemTeam)Gustav Kirchhoff and Robert Bunsen
Uses
Atomic absorption spectrometry quantifies trace elemental concentration in a sample, a standard analytical chemistry technique since Alan Walsh's 1950s instrument.
High-performance liquid chromatography separates and quantifies compounds in a mixture under high pressure, a workhorse instrument of analytical chemistry.
Infrared spectrometry identifies molecular functional groups from characteristic vibrational absorption bands, a standard analytical chemistry technique.
Sources
1. Analytical chemistry (Wikipedia)
WikipediaLead section, definition sentence
the branch of chemistry concerned with the development and application of methods to identify the chemical composition of materials and quantify the amounts of components in mixtures.
Lead section, scope sentence
It encompasses both classical techniques (e.g. titration, gravimetric analysis) and modern instrumental approaches (e.g. spectroscopy, chromatography, mass spectrometry, electrochemical methods).
Lead section, closing sentence
In the age of "big data", analytical chemistry, along with chemometrics and bioinformatics, has become central to interpreting complex results from high-throughput techniques like gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GCMS)
View the Source Kirchhoff and Bunsen on Spectroscopy (ChemTeam)
Gustav Kirchhoff and Robert Bunsen, Annalen der Physik und der Chemie, 1860Founded By: Robert Bunsen, Introductory paragraphQuote, Founded By: Robert Bunsen, Introductory paragraph
A method of qualitative analysis can be based on these lines, whereby the field of chemical reactions is greatly widened and hitherto inaccessible problems are solved.
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