Calculation Reference Book?

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6 posts Page 1 of 1
Hello All,

I am looking for some kind of reference work on the calculations needed for the different quantitative methods that are regularly used in analytical chemistry. I need a good reference work for whenever i am second guessing myself and to teach new lab techs. I am looking for in-depth explanations of all the real-world calculations, not conceptual work with lots of assumptions. We have to develop quantitation methods very rapidly for always changing types of demands, so a very wide array of methods is needed. I am looking for good explanations with good illustrations and explicit calculation examples and protocols, not just concepts.

Topics of interest are Method of Standard Additions, using extraction and instrument internal standards, internal standardization, external standardization, making dilutions, different ways of building standard curves and their plusses and minuses, pharma examples, isotope dilution, quantitation with relative response factors, when volumes should be knowns vs. when a known weight of standard is best added, QuEChERS calculations……

Is there such a book that you would recommend? I have found no such work that is tailored towards the WORKINg analytical chemist.

Thanks folks!

Arne
Yes, yes yes, please someone write one! The problem I find in the biological/biochemical sciences is that most biologists/biochemists (me included) landed up in the area because we were basically decent at science but rubbish at maths. Those who've worked in a regulated environment can't think any more because they haven't been allowed to think for years. And those who've done an MSc in analytical chemistry have sometimes been taught by lecturers who no longer do anything in the lab, and who last worked with systems that have been out of date for 20 years. I've had to try to learn about these things by osmosis and guesswork, so I don't feel qualified to train others. Most of what I know has been gleaned from analytical instrument trainers who weren't really supposed to be covering that sort of thing at all.
The only thing that worries me is that people will use a book like that without using their brain: it will become a formula-collection, where what we really need is an explanation of why these things matter, with copious real-world examples, and questions (with answers!) so the student can check that they can set up the calculation correctly for themselves, and can still do it if someone suddenly discloses that there was an extra dilution, or a pellet got washed three times instead of twice.
I'm not aware of such a book, but maybe there are some good resources within this list from Eurachem Education & Training group:
https://www.eurachem.org/index.php/publ ... /mnu-rdlst

What I like to do and to teach our students is to first do a flow chart of all the steps from the balance to the detector (eg. dilutions, aliquoting, concentrate etc). Then it's just about doing the mass balances along this path: once with focus on the matrix (whole sample) and once for your analyte (your unknown).
Best done with just algebraic expressions in this step.
Then connect and consolidate the formulas from both pathway as needed.
With this is, it is now easy to programm your calculation in a spreadsheet,
or just enter the raw data for each variable and you're done. Of course check the unit of your number and remeber that milli or micro etc. is only a substitute for the factor of 10e-3 or 10e-6 etc.
additional:
I don't know if there is an English version but maybe you want to have a look at this book

Kunze, Udo R. / Schwedt, Georg
Grundlagen der quantitativen Analyse
https://www.wiley-vch.de/de/fachgebiete ... 27-32075-2

it covers a wide range of analytical methods with the explanation of the chemical reactions behind together with the basic equations.

Also there was a nice series of articles about the (linear) calibration curves in LG/GC, 2009
http://www.lcresources.com/training/tsbible.html
Thank you, all!

Your replies are thoughtful and I had no idea that all of the columns from the LC Troubleshooting series were compiled in one place! I definitely bookmarked that site.

The German book is good I am sure. It appears to cover a much wider range of topics than chromatography but a lot of the dilution / standardization / sample prep issues still apply no matter how one measures a sample at the end. Good for those of us who know (enough) German!

The Eurachem reading list is a great springboard!

I acquired a copy of "Practical HPLC Method Development" https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/boo ... 1118592014

That has a section on quantitation (Chapter 14). It is pretty good but does not cover that many topics.
again a German book (sorry) but I guess this one seems quite good for the professional math, a chemical lab assistant need to know.

https://www.europa-lehrmittel.de/Fachma ... en/27610-1

(actually I don't have a copy, yet, but what I see from the example chapter and the solutions-book, they use the same approaches as I was taught (basically what you need are factors and divisors (fractions)))
There are small introduction sections with examples and then several excercise tasks. Also they show the algebraic expressions needed, not just numbers)

Maybe someone can translate or even better, ask the publishing company if they would release an English edition.
If they get several requests from different companies or lecturers, who knows.
At least the numbers don't need any translation...
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