Mass Spectrometry

Analytical Chemistry

Analytical chemistry is concerned with providing qualitative and quantitative information about the chemical and structural composition of a sample of matter. A huge variety of samples, from high concentrations of elements in alloy steels to part-per-billion levels of drugs in biological tissue, are handled by the analyst. The field is founded on the conversion of a measured physical property of the species being examined to a usable signal. It is generally divided into two categories, classical and instrumental, on the basis of its historical development. The overall strategy is to prepare a sample correctly, choose a particular method of analysis, and report the results in a meaningful format, which may include a statistical evaluation.