In analytical chemistry

Analytical chemistry

Analytical chemistry is the study of the separation, identification, and quantification of the chemical components of natural and artificial materials. Qualitative analysis gives an indication of the identity of the chemical species in the sample and quantitative analysis determines the amount of...

, sample preparation refers to the ways in which a sample is treated prior to its analysis. Preparation is a very important step in most analytical techniques, because the techniques are often not responsive to the analyte in its in-situ form, or the results are distorted by interfering species

Chemical species

Chemical species are atoms, molecules, molecular fragments, ions, etc., being subjected to a chemical process or to a measurement. Generally, a chemical species can be defined as an ensemble of chemically identical molecular entities that can explore the same set of molecular energy levels on a...

. Sample preparation may involve dissolution

Solution

In chemistry, a solution is a homogeneous mixture composed of only one phase. In such a mixture, a solute is dissolved in another substance, known as a solvent. The solvent does the dissolving.- Types of solutions :...

, reaction

Chemical reaction

A chemical reaction is a process that leads to the transformation of one set of chemical substances to another. Chemical reactions can be either spontaneous, requiring no input of energy, or non-spontaneous, typically following the input of some type of energy, such as heat, light or electricity...

 with some chemical species, pulverizing

Powder (substance)

A powder is a dry,thick bulk solid composed of a large number of very fine particles that may flow freely when shaken or tilted. Powders are a special sub-class of granular materials, although the terms powder and granular are sometimes used to distinguish separate classes of material...

, treatment with a chelating

Complex (chemistry)

In chemistry, a coordination complex or metal complex, is an atom or ion , bonded to a surrounding array of molecules or anions, that are in turn known as ligands or complexing agents...

 agent (e.g. EDTA

EDTA

Ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid, widely abbreviated as EDTA , is a polyamino carboxylic acid and a colourless, water-soluble solid. Its conjugate base is named ethylenediaminetetraacetate. It is widely used to dissolve limescale. Its usefulness arises because of its role as a hexadentate ligand...

), masking

Masking agent

A masking agent is a reagent used in chemical analysis which reacts with chemical species that may interfere in the analysis.In sports a masking agent is used to hide or prevent detection of a banned substance or illegal drug like anabolic steroids or stimulants...

, Filtering

Filter (chemistry)

In chemistry and common usage, a filter is a device that is designed to physically block certain objects or substances while letting others through. Filters are often used to remove solid substances suspended in fluids, for example to remove air pollution, to make water drinkable, and to prepare...

, dilution

Dilution

Dilution may refer to:* Reducing the concentration of a chemical* Serial dilution, a common way of going about this reduction of concentration* Homeopathic dilution* Dilution , an equation to calculate the rate a gas dilutes...

, sub-sampling

Sub-sampling

In analytical chemistry, sub-sampling is a procedure by which a small, representative sample is taken from a larger sample. Good sub-sampling technique becomes important when the large sample is not homogeneous.-Coning and quartering:...

or many other techniques.

External Links

• Sample preparation instruments