Analytical chemistry is the study of the
chemical composition of natural and artificial
materials. Unlike other major sub disciplines of chemistry such as
inorganic chemistry and
organic chemistry, analytical chemistry is not restricted to any particular type of chemical compound or
reaction. Properties studied in analytical chemistry include
geometric features such as
molecular morphologies and distributions of species, as well as features such as composition and species identity. The contributions made by analytical chemists have played critical roles in the sciences ranging from the development of concepts and theories (
pure science) to a variety of practical applications, such as
biomedical applications,
environmental monitoring,
quality control of
industrial manufacturing and
forensic science (
applied science).
Analytical chemistry is particularly concerned with the questions of "what chemicals are present, what are their characteristics and in what quantities are they present?" These questions are often involved in questions that are more dynamic such as what chemical reaction an enzyme catalyzes or how fast it does it, or even more dynamic such as what is the transition state of the reaction. Although analytical chemistry addresses these types of questions it stops after they are answered. The next logical steps of understanding what it means, how it fits into a larger system, how can this result be generalized into theory or how it can be used are not analytical chemistry. Since analytical chemistry is based on firm experimental evidence and limits itself to some fairly simple questions to the general public it is most closely associated with hard numbers such as how much lead is in drinking water.
Analytical chemists work to improve the reliability of existing techniques to meet the demands for better chemical measurements which arise constantly in our society. They adapt proven methodologies to new kinds of materials or to answer new questions about their composition. They carry out research to discover completely new principles of measurement and are at the forefront of the utilization of major discoveries such as lasers and microchip devices for practical purposes. They make important contributions to many other fields as diverse as forensic chemistry, archaeology, and space science.
Modern analytical chemistry is dominated by instrumental analysis. Many analytical chemists focus on a single type of instrument. Academics tend to either focus on new applications and discoveries or on new methods of analysis. The discovery of a chemical present in blood that increases the risk of cancer would be a discovery that an analytical chemist might be involved in. An effort to develop a new method might involve the use of a tunable laser to increase the specificity and sensitivity of a spectrometric method. Many methods, once developed, are kept purposely static so that data can be compared over long periods of time. This is particularly true in industrial quality assurance (QA), forensic and environmental applications. Analytical chemistry plays an increasingly important role in the pharmaceutical industry where, aside from QA, it is used in discovery of new drug candidates and in clinical applications where understanding the interactions between the drug and the patient are critical.
