RINGKASAN

A sample (aka an item) is a small separate part (e.g. a spoonful of sugar) of something
exhibiting the same physical and chemical properties (e.g. of sugar) of a larger part known as
the population (e.g. a 50 kg bag of sugar).
Descriptions and diagrams of the most common utensils used in taking samples (such as
augers and probes) can be found in any laboratory equipment catalogue or online (Google).
Sampling tools or equipment must meet these basic requirements:
 They must be robust enough to withstand handling operations
 Easy to disassemble to clean all parts of the equipment 36 Chapter 4 Sampling
 All parts of the equipment must be made of materials resistant to the type of goods or
products being sampled, such as fruit’s inherent acidic properties or chemicals
 The tools or equipment must also conform to safety requirements and any other
specified specifications pertaining to the subsequent analysis
 For air or gas sampling these must be taken with special aluminium bags that contain
septum plugs (especially useful for gas chromatography (GC) and highperformance
liquid chromatography (HPLC) testing)
 For forensic specimens, use unreactive material for the sample containers, such as
glass jars, aluminium cans, or polytetrafluoroethylene vials.
Sample preservation procedures
These must be considered, if any, before any transportation, storage or analysis is undertaken.
 Water sample may be preserved by the addition of acid or preservatives;
 Photosensitive samples must be taken quickly and stored in amber bottles or be placed
inside a black bag or box;
 Samples sensitive to air spoilage or oxidation must be packed or filled in such a way
that there are no air spaces inside the sample bottle or pack
final homogeneous and representative sample that has been prepared from the primary and
any secondary samples (if necessary, it has been milled to a powder form) to create the
amount of sample that is given to the analytical chemist for testing.
Sample preparation must be treated in such a way that a homogeneous represent tative sample
can be produced via specific preparation techniques, such as addition of chemicals or
catalysts, combustion and dry or wet ashing, filtrations, centrifuging, acidic digestions,
solvent extractions, distillations, ion exchange or chromatographic separations, fusions with a
specific flux, ultrasonic baths or microwave radiation.
This is another most critical part in any analytical process or experiment. Consideration must
be taken into account for an applicable procedure to isolate or separate the analyte from any
interfering substances that might be present in the sample makeup.
For liquid samples, immediately before testing, shake the bottle or container carefully but
thoroughly to ensure the re-dissolution of any sediment that might have formed during
transport and storage – be aware of any possible pressure build-up! Do not shake the bottle or
container if the sample has to be tested on a “settled solids” or “suspended solids” basis.
For viscous samples, such as molasses, fats, heavy fuels, lube oils and waxes, loosen the lid
of the container and warm in the incubator or oven at a low temperature just until mixture can
be safely mixed or stirred to form a homogeneous blend – do not overheat as this could
irreversibly change the chemical and physical properties of the sample! And could also start a
combustion process!
For solid samples, such as coal, animal feed pellets, sugar and grains, if more than sufficient
amount of sample has been received by the laboratory (e.g. from the preparation of the sub-
lots), then reduce the amount by first breaking any lumps or pieces of sample larger than
about 20 mm into smaller pieces, until all the sample received is of uniform particle size of
about 10 mm or less – do not do this if size grading (or particle size distribution) of the
sample is required. If sufficient sample is available, then retain a representative portion of it
for its size grading and prepare the rest of the sample for analysis
Decomposition of the sample can be undertaken by using various acids, caustic, water or
organic solvents. Most analytical chemical techniques require the sample to be in a liquid
form prior to the analysis.