LESSON 01

A. The Nature and Scope of Analytical Chemistry.

Analytical chemistry is the branch of chemistry that deals with the analysis of different
substances.
It involves the separation, identification, and the quantification of matter. It involves the use of
classical methods along with modern methods involving the use of scientific instruments.
Analytical chemistry involves the following methods:

 The process of separation isolates the required chemical species which is to be analyzed

from a mixture.
 The identification of the analyte substance is achieved via the method of qualitative
analysis.
 The concentration of the analyte in a given mixture can be determined with the method of
quantitative analysis.

What is analytical chemistry in biology?

 Analytical chemistry methods refer to techniques used for the detection, identification,
characterization and quantification of chemical compounds. These methods are
commonly used in biology for research, development and quality control of pharmaceutical
products.

 How important is the study of analytical chemistry in biological sciences?

 Analytical chemistry should play an important role in the measurement of drugs and
metabolites in the field of pharmaceutical sciences. Scientists using analytical techniques
to provide quantification of analytes should be familiar with methods for statistically
analyzing collected data.

B. The Role of Analytical Chemistry

 Analytical chemists use science and technology to solve practical problems.

 Analytical chemistry is applied in all areas of science, industry, and medicine.
–The concentrations of O2 and CO2 in blood samples.
– Quantities of hydrocarbons, NOx, and CO in automobile exhaust gases for emission-
control devices.
–Quantitative measurements of ionized Ca in blood serum help diagnose parathyroid
disease in humans.
– Quantitative determination of N in foods: protein content and thus their nutritional value.
– Analysis of steel during its production for carbon, nickel, and chromium to achieve a
desired strength, hardness, corrosion resistance, and ductility.
– The mercaptan content of household gas supplies to warn of dangerous leaks.
– Farmers tailing or fertilization and irrigation schedules to meet changing plant needs
during the growing
The Central Science; all sub-disciplines rely on analytical chemistry to function.

The interdisciplinary nature of chemical analysis makes it a vital tool in medical, industrial,
government, and academic laboratories throughout the world

Methods Used in Analytical Chemistry

The methods used to determine the identity and the quantity of the analytes in the field of
analytical chemistry can be broadly divided into classical and instrumental methods.

1. Classical Methods

 There exist many classical methods of checking for the presence or absence of a particular
compound in a given analyte. One such example is the acid test for gold.
 Another example of a classical method for qualitative analysis is the Kastle-Meyer test
which employs phenolphthalein as an indicator to check for the presence of hemoglobin in
the given analyte.
 Flame tests can be used to check for the presence of specific elements in an analyte by
exposing it to a flame and observing the change in the color of the flame.
 Gravimetric analysis is a classical method of quantitative analysis, which can be used in
analytical chemistry to determine the amount of water in a hydrate by heating it and
calculating the weight of the water lost.
 One of the better known classical methods of quantitative analysis is volumetric analysis
(also known as titration). In the titration method, a reactant is added to the analyte till an
equivalence point is obtained.
2. Instrumental Methods

 Spectroscopy involves the measurement of the interaction between electromagnetic

radiation and the atoms or molecules belonging to a sample.
 With the help of electric fields and magnetic fields, the method of mass spectroscopy is
used to measure the ratio of the mass of the molecule to its charge.
 A common instrumental method used in the field of analytical chemistry is electrochemical
analysis. In this method, the analyte is placed in an electrochemical cell and the voltage or
the current flowing through it is measured.
 The interaction between the analyte and energy in the form of heat is studied in the
discipline of analytical chemistry known as calorimetry. A calorimeter is an instrument that
is used to measure the heat of a chemical reaction.
It can be noted that even biological measurements are made with the help of this branch of
chemistry, and this field is known as bio analytical chemistry.

Branches of Analytical Chemistry

Two sub-branches come under analytical chemistry namely quantitative analysis and qualitative
analysis which can be explained as follows.

1. Quantitative Analysis
Quantitative Analysis is a method of determining the absolute or relative quantity regarding the
concentration of one or more substances present in a sample or compound.
For example, take a sample of an unknown solid substance. The chemists first use “qualitative”
methods to identify what type of compound is present in the sample; then he adopts the
quantitative analysis procedure to determine the exact amount or the quantity of the compound
present in the sample.
Some Quantitative analysis techniques include Gravimetric Analysis and  Volumetric analysis.

2. Qualitative Analysis
Quality means the standard or the feature of one substance. Hence, Qualitative analysis method
deals with the determination of the quality of a particular compound, irrespective of its quantity or
concentration. In simpler words, the qualitative analysis does not measure the amount of the
substance but measures the quality of that material. One of the best examples of this type of
method is the observation of a chemical reaction, whether there will be a change in color or not.
The qualitative analysis method can be measured in different ways such as chemical tests, flame
tests, etc. Several such tests are widely used in salt analysis (identification of the cation & anion of
inorganic salts).
Quantitative Analytical Methods
• Four general areas of analytical methods:
1. Gravimetric methods: determine the mass of analyte or some compound chemically related to
it.
2. Volumetric methods use the volume of a solution containing sufficient reagent to react with the
analyte.
3. Electroanalytical methods measure electrical properties (potential, current, resistance) to find
composition of samples.
4. Spectroscopic methods based on interaction of electromagnetic radiation with analyte atoms
& molecules, or on the production of radiation by analytes.