ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY
Finalities of Analytical Chemistry. Phases of the chemical-analytical procedure. Classification of analysis methods. Processing of experimental data. Average value of a series of data, mode and median. Standard deviation and relative standard deviation. Systematic, random and gross errors. Absolute error and relative error. Source and treatment of systematic errors in analytical chemistry. Statistical treatment of random error. Probability distributions of Gauss and Student's t. Confidence intervals of the mean. Accuracy and precision. laboratory exercises. Mass spectrometry and its applications in the environmental field in the determination of xenobiotics (LC-MS, LC-MS/MS). ICP-MS. Introduction to chromatographic separations: general principles. Classification of chromatographic methods. Chromatographic parameters: retention time, retention and selectivity factor, resolution. Efficiency of a chromatographic column: number of theoretical plates, equivalent height of a theoretical plate. van Deemter equation. Band widening. Variables affecting chromatographic efficiency. Qualitative and quantitative analysis by chromatography. Exercises. Principles of gas chromatography (GC). Isocratic and gradient chromatography. High and ultra-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC, UPLC), instrumentation and detectors.

Sample preparation techniques for the determination of inorganic and organic analytes, of pollutants in the determination of heavy metals, pesticides, aromatic compounds, organic solvents. Air pollutants. Emerging pollutants, Drugs (antibiotics, anticancer drugs, antidepressants, hormones) and their metabolites. Endocrine modulators, plasticizers, PCBs. Personal care products. Fragrances, insecticides, glyphosate. Microplastics, metal nanoparticles. Polluting mixtures.
Electromagnetic radiation. Origin of the emission and absorption spectra. Sources, monochromators and radiation detectors. Visible/UV molecular absorption spectrophotometry. The absorption spectra of molecules. Relationship between absorption and molecular structure. Lambert-Beer law. Spectrophotometers and their calibration. Spectrophotometric analysis of a single substance. Analysis of mixtures. Spectrophotometric titrations. Luminescence and Chemiluminescence. Fluorescence and phosphorescence. Fluorimetry. Exercises. Atomic spectroscopy: general aspects. Atomization systems. Quantitative relations and calibration lines. Emission spectroscopy. Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy (AA) on flame and electroatomizer. Atomic emission with plasma atomizers.