Fundamentals of Chemical Analysis

Introduction to Chemical Analysis

• definition of analytical chemistry
• goals and general steps of quantitative chemical analysis
• measures of specifying analyte concentration

Classification of Analytical Techniques

• classical vs instrumental techniques. General characteristics. Description of common instrumental methods.
• single vs multichannel techniques. Advantages of multichannel methods
• relative vs absolute techniques. Advantages of absolute methods.

Quantitation in Instrumental Analysis

• relative quantitation; the nature and source of calibration error
• the calibration function
• the two major methods of quantitation - the calibration curve and standard addition methods. A possible refinement: using internal standards.

The Calibration Curve Method

• philosophy of the calibration curve method
• the steps to quantitation using a calibration curve
• calculation of analyte concentration using calibration curve measurements
• important assumptions of the calibration curve method

The Standard Addition Method

• philosophy of the standard addition methods
• the steps to quantitation using standard additions. Types of standard addition approaches: dilution to constant volume, and direct addition of standard (without dilution).
• calculation of analyte concentration using standard addition measurements
• important assumptions of the standard addition method
• standard additions vs calibration curve: advantages of each

Internal Standards

• steps to quantitation using internal standards
• calculation of analyte concentration using measurements with internal standards
• advantages of using internal standards for quantitation

Interferences

• definition/description: interferences (chemical and physical), sample matrix, matrix effects. Importance of correcting for interferences.
• additive and multiplicative effects
• general methods of correction for interferences: elimination; control; theoretical and empirical correction.
• specific methods for correcting matrix effects: matrix matching, blank correction, multi-channel blank correction, dilution, saturation, matrix modifiers, standard additions

Figures of Merit

• overview: what they are and how they are used
• sensitivity
• detection capability: limit of detection (LOD), limit of quantitation (LOQ)
• dynamic range and linear dynamic range
• measurement precision
• selectivity
• other FOMs