Evolution of Analytical Sciences in the United States: A Historical Account.

The current teaching and practice of analytical chemistry reflect the evolution of measurement science over time. Qualitative and quantitative measurements can be traced back to prebiblical times, have been important throughout human history, and today are key to the functioning of a modern society. This review is designed to provide a brief overview of the evolution of analytical science and a summary of the evolution, development, and growth of analytical chemistry in the United States, with emphasis on developments up to the mid-twentieth century. Some degree of emphasis is placed on early centers of analytical chemistry and contributions of pioneers of analytical chemistry within the United States. The evolution of journals, early textbooks, and reference books on analytical chemistry as well as developments in analytical chemistry curricula in the United States are traced.

Talanta, JFIA, and ICFIA/JAFIA--A history.

The Winter Conference on Flow Injection Analysis (WCFIA) began in 1989, and became the International Conference on Flow Injection Analysis, when merging with the Japanese Association for Flow Injection Analysis (JAFIA) in 1995. Talanta has published special issues on the conference since 1995. Beginning in 2013, accepted manuscripts are published in regular issues of Talanta, and a virtual special issue of all manuscripts is compiled for access online. Reports of the conferences have been published in the Journal of Flow Injection Analysis (JFIA) beginning in 1992, in English and in Japanese. Some reports in English have been published in TrAC, from 1993 to 2008. This report provides, for the record, all Special Issues and all reports, listing the venues, conference organizers, and guest editors for special issues, along with the titles of the reports for the cited issues.

A historical account of conferences devoted to flow methods in analytical chemistry--International Conference on Flow Analysis (FA) and International Conference on Flow Injection Analysis (ICFIA).

Flow methods of analysis represent one of the most studied and practiced areas of analytical chemistry. Two major international conferences are regularly held devoted to these methods. The International Conference on Flow Analysis (FA) began in 1979, and the International Conference on Flow Injection Analysis (ICFIA) began in 1989, originally as the Winter Conference on Flow Injection Analysis (WCFIA). ICFIA has been held jointly with the Japanese Association for Flow Injection Analysis (JAFIA) since 1998. A historical account is given of these two conferences, with references to proceedings and reports of the conferences.

Simple sequential injection analysis systems with a dynamic surface tension detector.

Simple sequential injection analysis systems with DSTD (SIA/DSTD) have been developed. One was employed for the study of the effects of the ion contents in solutions to the dynamic surface pressure of ionic surfactants. The results from the studies show the possibility for an alternative simple fast screening, but also a sensitive procedure for water quality determination. Another simple SIA/DSTD system has been demonstrated for the quantification of an anionic surfactant using a single standard calibration.

Review on screening and analysis techniques for hemoglobin variants and thalassemia.

Thalassemia involves gene mutation that causes the production of an insufficient amount of normal structure globin chains while Hb variant involves gene mutation that causes the change in type or number of amino acid of the globin chain. It has been reported that some 200 million people worldwide had hemoglobinopathies of some sort. Attempts to develop effective and economical techniques for screening and analysis of thalassemia and Hb variants have become very important. In this review, we report the different techniques available, ranging from initial screening to extensive analysis, comparing advantages and disadvantages. Some indirect studies related to thalassemia indication and treatment follow-up are also included. We hope that information on these various techniques would be useful for some scientists who are working on development of a new technique or improving the existing ones.

Exploiting guava leaf extract as an alternative natural reagent for flow injection determination of iron.

Guava leaf extract is utilized as an alternative natural reagent for quantification of iron. The flow injection technique enables the use of the extract in acetate buffer solution without the need of further purification. Some properties of the extract such as its stability and ability to form a colored complex with iron were studied. The proposed system is an environmentally friendly method for determination of iron with less toxic chemical wastes.

Flow injection in-valve-mini-column pretreatment combined with ion chromatography for cadmium, lead and zinc determination.

A flow injection (FI) in-valve-mini-column packed with Chelex-100 resin is proposed for on-line sample pretreatment for some metal ions, namely, Cd(II), Pb(II) and Zn(II), prior to simultaneous determination using ion chromatography (IC). A solution containing a mixture of the cations was first passed through the in-valve-mini-column, followed by on-line elution. The eluate was then flowed further to an injection valve and was injected into an ion chromatograph. Conditions of the system were optimized. A single standard calibration was possible. The recoveries of cations were found to be in the range of 95-105%. The developed method was applied to the accurate analysis of zinc ore samples.

Characterization and use of a Raman liquid-core waveguide sensor using preconcentration principles.

A novel Raman sensor using a liquid-core optical waveguide is reported, implementing a Teflon-AF 2400 tube filled with water. An aqueous analyte mixture of benzene, toluene and p-xylene was introduced using a 1000 microl sample loop to the liquid-core waveguide (LCW) sensor and the analytes were preconcentrated on the inside surface of the waveguide tubing. The analytes were then eluted from the waveguide using an acetonitrile-water solvent mixture injected via a 30 microl eluting solvent loop. The preconcentration factor was experimentally determined to be 14-fold, in reasonable agreement with the theoretical preconcentration factor of 33 based upon the sample volume to elution volume ratio. Raman spectra of benzene, toluene and p-xylene were obtained during elution. It was found that analytically useful Raman signals for benzene, toluene and p-xylene were obtained at 992, 1004 and 1206 cm(-1), respectively. The relative standard deviation of the method was 3% for three replicate measurements. The limit of detection (LOD) was determined to be 730 ppb (parts per billion by volume) for benzene, exceptional for a system that does not resort to surface enhancement or resonance Raman approaches. The Raman spectra of these test analytes were evaluated for qualitative and quantitative analysis utility.

Sequential injection analysis with dynamic surface tension detection High throughput analysis of the interfacial properties of surface-active samples.

A sequential injection analysis (SIA) system is coupled with dynamic surface tension detection (DSTD) for the purpose of studying the interfacial properties of surface-active samples. DSTD is a novel analyzer based upon a growing drop method, utilizing a pressure sensor measurement of drop pressure. The pressure signal depends on the surface tension properties of sample solution drops that grow and detach at the end of a capillary tip. In this work, SIA was used for creating a reagent concentration gradient, and for blending the reagent gradient with a steady-state sample. The sample, consisting of either sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) or poly(ethylene glycol) at 1470 g mol(-1) (PEG 1470), elutes with a steady-state concentration at the center of the sample plug. Reagents such as Brij(R)35, tetrabutylammonium (TBA) hydroxide and beta-cyclodextrin were introduced as a concentration gradient that begins after the sample plug has reached the steady-state concentration. By blending the reagent concentration gradient with the sample plug using SIA/DSTD, the kinetic surface pressure signal of samples mixed with various reagent concentrations is observed and evaluated in a high throughput fashion. It was found that the SIA/DSTD method consumes lesser reagent and required significantly less analysis time than traditional FIA/DSTD. Four unique chemical systems were studied with regard to how surface activity is influenced, as observed through the surface tension signal: surface activity addition, surface activity reduction due to competition, surface activity enhancement due to ion-pair formation, and surface activity reduction due to bulk phase binding chemistry.

Sequential injection redox or acid-base titration for determination of ascorbic acid or acetic acid.

Two sequential injection titration systems with spectrophotometric detection have been developed. The first system for determination of ascorbic acid was based on redox reaction between ascorbic acid and permanganate in an acidic medium and lead to a decrease in color intensity of permanganate, monitored at 525 nm. A linear dependence of peak area obtained with ascorbic acid concentration up to 1200 mg l(-1) was achieved. The relative standard deviation for 11 replicate determinations of 400 mg l(-1) ascorbic acid was 2.9%. The second system, for acetic acid determination, was based on acid-base titration of acetic acid with sodium hydroxide using phenolphthalein as an indicator. The decrease in color intensity of the indicator was proportional to the acid content. A linear calibration graph in the range of 2-8% w v(-1) of acetic acid with a relative standard deviation of 4.8% (5.0% w v(-1) acetic acid, n=11) was obtained. Sample throughputs of 60 h(-1) were achieved for both systems. The systems were successfully applied for the assays of ascorbic acid in vitamin C tablets and acetic acid content in vinegars, respectively.