Analytical Chemistry Division Research Articles

Editorial: IUPAC-NIST Solubility Data Series

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European Analytical Column no. 38 from the Division of Analytical Chemistry (DAC) of the European Association for Chemical and Molecular Sciences (EuCheMS), January 2010

The EUROANALYSIS conference series constitutes the cornerstone activity of the Division of Analytical Chemistry (DAC) [1] of the European Association for Chemical and Molecular Sciences (EuCheMS) [2]. Hence this column reports on the last EUROANALYSIS conference held in Innsbruck, Austria, in September 2009. The present column also follows up the pattern from the previous two columns; namely to invite a European analytical chemist to give his or her view on a certain topic of interest. This time Professor Paul Worsfold gives his personal view on water quality in the developing world.

PITTCON AWARDS 2010

ELEVEN SCIENTISTS were honored for their outstanding contributions to the fields of analytical chemistry and applied spectroscopy during Pittcon 2010 in Orlando, Fla., on Feb. 28 to March 5. Each award was presented during a symposium honoring the recipient and his or her achievements. Craig A. Aspinwall, an associate professor of chemistry at the University of Arizona, received the Young Investigator Award from the Subdivision on Chromatography & Separation Chemistry of the American Chemical Society’s Analytical Chemistry Division. His group has made advances in real-time online monitoring of neurotransmitters and hormones, including the development of a novel approach for optical sample introduction in capillary separations, known as photolytic optical gating. Joshua J. Coon, an assistant professor of chemistry and biomolecular chemistry at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, received the 2010 Pittsburgh Conference Achievement Award from Pittcon and the Society for Analytical Chemists of Pittsburgh. C...

Euroanalysis XV, 2009: The European conference on analytical chemistry

Euroanalysis has become one of the most important broadspectrum analytical conference series covering essentially all aspects of analytical sciences. It is held every 2 years in different European countries and is organized under the umbrella of the Division of Analytical Chemistry (DAC) of the European Association of Chemical and Molecular Sciences (EuCheMS). In 2009 this conference was arranged by the Austrian Society of Analytical Chemistry (ASAC) represented by the chairmen Wolfgang Buchberger and Wolfgang Lindner. Euroanalysis had previously been organized successfully by ASAC in Vienna in 1990. For its return to Austria, Innsbruck had been chosen as the venue, where the convention center ‘Congress Innsbruck’ provided a perfect environment. Despite some fears of negative impacts due to the economic crisis in 2009, the number of participants was as high as in previous conferences of this series. The organizers welcomed approximately 700 delegates from 53 countries with Spain, Austria, Germany, Czech Republic, Russia, and Italy being the top six regarding participants. We were particularly proud to welcome more than 200 students from all over the world, which gave the conference a very dynamic and lively atmosphere. About 60 travel grants were provided as financial support for young analytical chemists. Under the motto “The Impact of Analytical Chemistry on Quality of Life”, 130 lectures and 640 poster presentations resulted in a very attractive program which covered practically all areas of analytical sciences. In accordance with the intentions expressed at the foundation of the Euroanalysis series, the conference gave an excellent overview of the advances in the various areas of analytical sciences and stimulated communication between analytical chemists working in quite diverse fields. This fact was also reflected by the various plenary lectures including “Proteomics—a Tool in Personalized Medicine?” (F. Lottspeich), “The Environmental Challenge for Analytical Sciences” (M. Grasserbauer), “Nanoanalytics—Probing Matter at the Atomic Scale” (H. Fuchs), “Ionics. A New Paradigm in Ion Detection in Solution” (P. K. Dasgupta), “Plus Lucis: Advanced Waveguides for Enhanced Infrared Diagnostics” (B. Mizaikoff), “Microarray Technology—Current Status and Trends” (R. Niessner), “LCxLC: Liquid Chromatography Enters a New Dimension” (P. Schoenmakers), and “New Stationary Phases for Enrichment and Separation Technologies in the -Omics Area—a Challenge in Analytical Separation Science” (G. Bonn). The broad spectrum of technological and thematic issues of the scientific program was covered by triple sessions starting with well-received keynote lectures. In keeping with tradition, we also had a session on education as we regard it as an important aspect of this symposium series. Obviously, modern analytical sciences do not simply aim at providing qualitative and quantitative results but also focus on the development of new strategies for efficient problem solving as well as on interpretation of data obtained by state-of-the-art techniques. The current trend to divide analytical sciences into a range of subdisciplines W. Buchberger (*) Johannes Kepler University Linz, Institute for Analytical Chemistry, Altenberger Strase 69, 4040 Linz, Austria e-mail: Wolfgang.Buchberger@jku.at

PITTCON 2010 IN ORLANDO

PITTCON 2010 will be held on Feb. 28 through March 5 at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando. Organized annually by more than 100 volunteers and nine staff members, the conference is sponsored by the Spectroscopy Society of Pittsburgh and the Society for Analytical Chemists of Pittsburgh. The first Pittsburgh Conference, which included an exposition of lab equipment, opened on Feb. 15, 1950, and featured 14 exhibitors, 25 booths, and 56 technical papers; it drew 800 attendees. Pittcon has come a long way. At C&EN’s press time, this year’s conference has 904 exhibitors registered to make presentations in 1,940 booths. Nearly 300 technical sessions and 100 short courses are planned. All conference information, including registration and housing, is on the Web at www.pittcon.org . Registration for the entire conference costs $190, or $25 for students with a valid ID. One-day registration is $95. The ACS Division of Analytical Chemistry is again programming at Pittcon. ...

Report on the 2010 International Chemical Congress of Pacifichem Basin Societies (Pacifichem 2010), December 15-20, Honolulu, Hawaii: Symposium on Advances in Flow-based Analytical Techniques

Pacifichem is held every five years, and is co-sponsored by the American Chemical Society, the Canadian Society for Chemistry, the Chemical Society of Japan, the Chinese Chemical Society, the Korean Chemical Society, the New Zealand Institute of Chemistry, and The Royal Australian Chemical Institute. Participating organizations include the Chemical Society of Thailand and the Japan Society for Analytical Chemistry. The Division of Analytical Chemistry of the American Chemical Society provided support for analytical symposia. The Symposium on Advances in Flow-based Analytical Techniques was organized by Ian McKelvie (Monash University, Australia), Gary Christian (University of Washington, USA), and Toshihiko Imato (Kyushu University, Japan). Ian McKelvie arranged the program and other details. There were twenty-four oral presentations and 17 poster presentations. The Pacifichem opening ceremony and reception were held Wednesday evening, December 15th, with fine weather, which remained until Sunday when record rainfall came, just in time for the beginning of the symposium when we had to be inside anyway! On the Saturday evening before the symposium, Jarda Ruzicka invited a number of participants and friends to his home at Hawaii Kai for a relaxing party and viewing of the Christmas boats, which went by his house. The symposium was held the last two days of the Congress, Sunday morning and afternoon, and Monday morning, with the poster session Sunday evening. Presiders were Ian McKelvie for the Sunday morning session, Toshihiko Imato and Gary Christian for the Sunday afternoon session, and Duangjai Nacapricha and Tadao Sakai for the Monday morning session.

Chemical characterization of engineered nanoparticles

Nanoparticles, particles having all three dimensions on the nanoscale (1–100 nm), are not new. They have been around since the dawn of the universe. However, interest in nanoparticles has increased explosively over the past two decades. This is especially the case for “engineered” nanoparticles, which can be defined as nanoparticles that are prepared to have certain characteristics so that they can be used for specific purposes. Though technically not nanoparticles, nanotubes and nanorods having only two dimensions on the nanoscale are often categorized and discussed together with true nanoparticles. Engineered nanoparticles are currently being used, or investigated and developed for use, in a wide range of applications spanning an array of technology sectors. Exciting examples can be found in medicine, where nanoparticles show great promise for cancer diagnosis and treatment, as well as for early detection of Alzheimer’s disease. In materials science, adding nanoparticles to plastics can make them lighter, while enhancing strength and durability. Nanoparticles are being utilized to produce selfcleaning windows, paints and coatings that resist abrasions and graffiti, as well as scratch-proof eyeglasses. In the area of environmental technologies, silver nanoparticles, known to have antimicrobial properties, are being investigated for remediation of chemical pollution. And in the area of water purification, nanoparticles are being studied for their potential to remove water contaminants selectively. The integration of nanoparticles into consumer products continues to skyrocket. However, the enormous application potential of nanoparticles is accompanied by both real and perceived risks to the environment and public health and safety. Consequently, in addition to the broad studies being conducted to find new uses for nanoparticles, research into the environmental, health, and safety (EHS) aspects of nanoparticles is being undertaken in many laboratories around the globe. At present, little is actually known concerning these EHS aspects and a very large body of knowledge remains to be discovered. Finding new uses for nanoparticles and understanding their EHS aspects require reliable methods for nanoparticle characterization. Of the types of characterization that are needed, perhaps none is more challenging than chemical characterization. In some senses, chemical characterization of nanoparticles has been performed for many years, though the terminology was different prior to the introduction of the new terms that include the prefix “nano.” For instance, researchers have been publishing papers on chemical analysis of colloidal suspensions and ultrafine particles for decades. However, somewhat different analytical problems have arisen with the advent of nanotechnology. Probably the most important example is the necessity to determine the surface compositions of engineered nanoparticles. A related example is found in the need to determine quantitatively the amount of a specific chemical component attached to the surfaces of nanoparticles relative to the amount of that same component dissolved in the solution phase of a suspension. This special issue of Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry is focused on chemical characterization of engiM. R. Winchester (*) Analytical Chemistry Division, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD 20899, USA e-mail: mwinchester@nist.gov

Analytical science in Germany—method developments and new applications at high international standards

As usual for industrial nations such as Germany, the analytical sciences are implemented in many different branches, such as high technologies, the natural and life sciences as well as environmental technology. Whereas routine methods are usually applied at the highest international standards in corresponding laboratories in industry or in independent analytical laboratories, most of the innovative developments in analytical science are carried out in research laboratories of universities or research institutes such as those of the Max Planck Society, the Fraunhofer Society and the Leibniz Association. In this case analytical science is not only associated with analytical chemistry but also with physics, biology, geology and medical departments and those of material sciences. This broad distribution of analytical activities is also reflected in this special issue of Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry. However, even though many different scientific fields contribute to innovative developments and new applications in the analytical sciences, a major activity is focused on research laboratories in analytical chemistry that have traditionally made substantial contributions to academic education in German chemistry faculties. Unfortunately, the influence of analytical chemistry as a ‘minor field of study’ in chemistry studies is decreasing in Germany, so the general importance of this branch of study must be made more obvious to the scientific community and also to the general public. In the past, analytical chemistry played a more important role in chemistry studies at German universities. The University of Leipzig, the Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz and the Eberhard Karls University Tubingen are only three of many important centres where many innovative analytical activities were carried out, and from where internationally well known analytical chemists have emerged. A tribute to one of these academic teachers in analytical chemistry from the University of Mainz, Prof. Rolf Neeb, is therefore published at the beginning of this special issue to commemorate the 80th anniversary of his birth in 2009. Rolf Neeb was an internationally well known analytical chemist in the field of electroanalytical chemistry and received his diploma under the supervision of Wilhelm Geilmann, another very important person in the German history of analytical chemistry. Also the Editor of the Fresenius’ Journal of Analytical Chemistry, Prof. Wilhelm Fresenius, was Honorary Professor of this university. During his life time he contributed greatly to the development and success of analytical chemistry in Germany. Recently, in German universities a pilot project has been evaluated to establish strategies to compare different faculties within a university and to rank them within the scientific community. Overall, chemistry demonstrated a very high standard internationally, underscoring the traditional interest in German postdoctoral researchers worldwide. However, in the final statement of the evaluation group, analytical chemistry in Germany was attested as having low visibility and only a fair reputation. This conclusion was unsatisfactory both to German analysts and to the Division of Analytical Chemistry within the German Chemical Society. Their representatives wrote a G. Gauglitz Institut fur Physikalische und Theoretische Chemie, Eberhard Karls University Tubingen, Auf der Morgenstelle 8, 72076 Tubingen, Germany e-mail: guenter.gauglitz@ipc.uni-tuebingen.de

So What? or Required Content of a Review Article

As the editor of a journal publishing only review articles in the field of separation methods, a division of analytical chemistry, the need to delineate what a review article is arose in light of the increasing number of inadequate submissions received.

European analytical column no. 37 (January 2009) Division of Analytical Chemistry (DAC) of the European Association for Chemical and Molecular Sciences (EuCheMS)

European analytical column no. 37 (January 2009) Division of Analytical Chemistry (DAC) of the European Association for Chemical and Molecular Sciences (EuCheMS)

Chemical Sensors Forum 2008 - Zurich/Uetliberg, September 8–9, 2008

More than 60 experts met in the Uto Kulm Hotel on the Uetliberg above Zurich on 8th and 9th September for the Chemical Sensors Forum 2008, an interdisciplinary conference on chemical sensors. The event, organised by the Swiss Chemical Society (Division of Analytical Chemistry) and the Zurich University of Applied Sciences, was devoted to the scientific career of Prof. Ursula E. Spichiger-Keller, who retired from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) Zurich in 2007. Rather than looking back over her successful work at the Centre for Chemical Sensors, the conference focused on new trends in academic and industrial research as well as on applications in the field of chemical sensors, including those influenced by Professor Spichiger's successful work at the Centre for Chemical Sensors.

NEAR-IR IMAGING GOES FURTHER

NEAR-INFRARED IMAGING for medical applications has long faced a chicken-and-egg problem. At first, researchers saw no need to develop instruments because there were so few dyes for highlighting biological features. At the same time, the lack of instruments discouraged the synthesis of improved dyes. Forward-looking researchers haven’t let that conundrum stop them. Medical researchers who use near-IR imaging for medical applications, and synthetic and analytical chemists who design new dyes and methods, described advances in the field during a symposium sponsored by the Division of Analytical Chemistry at last month’s American Chemical Society national meeting in Philadelphia. Near-IR imaging is attractive because it circumvents some of the problems associated with fluorescence imaging in the visible region. Although they are bright, visible dyes must compete with strong background fluorescence from the biological sample itself. This autofluorescence is diminished in the near-IR because few biological mole...

Euroanalysis XIV The European Conference on Analytical Chemistry

The 14th European Conference on Analytical Chemistry, Euroanalysis XIV, took place in the historical city centre of Antwerp, Belgium from 9 to 14 September 2007. This meeting was jointly organized by the Centre of Micro and Trace Analysis of the University of Antwerp and the Royal Flemish Chemical Society (KVCV—Koninklijke Vlaamse Chemische Vereniging) with assistance from the Institute of Reference Materials and Measurements (IRMM) of the European Commission. One of the aims of the conference was to highlight The Role of Analytical Chemistry in the Preservation of Mankind’s Cultural and Natural Environment. The response to the conference theme was quite substantial: out of a total of ca 800 abstracts received, 34 oral and 124 poster presentations dealt with the use of analytical chemistry or of analytical methods to study environmental problems. Prior to the conference, the Division of Analytical Chemistry (DAC) of the European Association of Chemical and Molecular Sciences (EuCheMS) had its annual meeting and a decision was reached to hold the 16th Euroanalysis conference in Belgrade, Serbia in 2011, under the responsibility of the Serbian Chemical Society and Slavica Razic. On the Sunday before the conference, a number of halfday or full-day courses on different topics related to analytical chemistry were offered by well-known scientists. These included introductions to “Mass Spectrometric Analysis for Endocrine Disruptors and Pharmaceutical Products in the Environment” (D. Barcelo, Barcelona, Spain), “Chemical Metrology”, (E. Bulska et al., Warsaw, Poland), “Experimental Design” (P. Goos, Antwerp, Belgium), “Analysis by Laser Ablation” (B. Hattendorf, Zurich, Switzerland), and “Vibrational Spectroscopy” (B. Lendl, Vienna, Austria); these courses were attended by ca. 100 conference participants. The scientific programme of the conference was spread out over eight half-days. All lectures took place in the Aula Rector Dhanis, a modern conference facility adjacent to a number of the historic buildings of the City Campus of the University of Antwerp. The programme comprised 12 plenary lectures, 18 keynote lectures, 13 invited lectures next to 76 contributed and four vendor lectures. With the exception of the plenary lectures, the oral program was organized in four parallel streams. All topical sessions were chaired by two conveners. The social program involved a welcoming reception at, and guided tour of, the Antwerp Museum of Fine Arts on Sunday evening, an organ concert in Antwerp Cathedral on Tuesday evening and a number of guided city walks on Wednesday afternoon. On Thursday evening the conference dinner took place in the Marble Hall of Antwerp Zoo, adjacent to the central station. In total, about 700 delegates from 49 different countries attended the conference. The best-represented country was Spain with almost 100 participants. In addition to delegates from other European countries (including Germany, Italy, Portugal, Romania, Poland, Great Britain, France, Austria, Serbia, and Belgium, to name just a few), delegates frommore distant nations such as Thailand, Australia, Argentina, Brazil, Taiwan, South Korea, and The Philippines also participated in the meeting, giving it a truly global character. The conference organizers were able to make available 100 bursaries in order to facilitate the participation of young scientists in the meeting. A number of these scholarships could be made available thanks to the support Anal Bioanal Chem (2008) 391:1107–1108 DOI 10.1007/s00216-008-2114-9

Obituary: A Tribute to Roger G. Bates (1912–2007)

Roger Gordon Bates, Emeritus Professor of Chemistry at the University of Florida, since 1979, died on August 20, 2007 in Gainesville, Florida at the age of 95. Born in Cummington, Mass. in 1912, he graduated with a BS in Chemistry at University of Massachusetts in 1934 and received Masters and Ph.D. degrees from Duke University in 1937. Following graduate study, he was awarded a two-year Sterling Fellowship at Yale University. He was a member of the staff of the National Bureau of Standards (now NIST) from 1939 until 1969 when he ‘retired’ to become professor of chemistry at the University of Florida, Gainesville. At NBS he rose to chief of the Electrochemical Analysis Section and assistant chief of the Analytical Chemistry Division. He obtained funding to support visitors to his section for extended periods, which is how I first met him in 1966, when I spent an invigorating five months determining the ionisation constant of heavy water (using 2 L), which had first been determined 30 years earlier by my head of Department in Newcastle, W.F.K. WynneJones (using 2 mL). (My colleagues in Newcastle impertinently enquired whether I would be coming back if I got a different value from Wynne-Jones’! They had no need to worry: I was in very safe hands.) Roger had a long-term collaboration and friendship with the itinerant Professor Robbie (R.A.) Robinson, who spent periods in Roger’s laboratory (as well as in others world wide) after he had retired from University of Malaya. An important result of their collaboration was the convention for single-ion activities based on Robinson’s theories of ion hydration, and a conventional scale of ion activities, for the standardization of ion-selective electrodes. In 1969, he joined Herb Laitinen in the Chemistry Department, University of Florida at Gainesville setting up with him a new graduate analytical course, and his own research group, which welcomed visitors from all over the world. This continued beyond his (second) retirement in 1979, whilst still enjoying the Florida weather for his year-round relaxation with tennis (and music, for he was an extremely accomplished keyboard player).

European analytical column no. 36 from the Division of Analytical Chemistry (DAC) of the European Association for Chemical and Molecular Sciences (EuCheMS) January 2008

Modern analytical methods are indispensable in many disciplines, including medicine, biology and environmental protection, as well as being fundamental to chemistry and chemical technology. Nearly 50 % of European Union (EU) laws and regulations require strict analytical measurements to monitor compliance. Prof. M. Grasserbauer expressed this eloquently at EUROANALYSIS XIII in 2004 in Salamanca in his statement that ‘Analytical Chemistry is indispensable to democratic governance’. This is supported by the number of batch analyses per year carried out in Europe (ca. 10) and the astronomical amount of data resulting from continuous analytical monitoring. Nearly 70 % of European chemists consider chemical analysis as either the main or an extremely important part of their job description [1]. In the field of Analytical Chemistry, more than 100,000 papers are generated in Europe alone every year [2]. Therefore, it is not surprising that Analytical Science was proclaimed as a breakthrough science by EuCheMS. It is clearly stated in its documents that the need for analytical measurements arises in all research disciplines, industrial sectors and human activities that entail the need to know not only the identities and amounts of chemical components in a mixture, but also how they are distributed in space and time. Recent developments in this area have underpinned major advances in the biosciences, such as genome mapping and diagnostics. Further developments will improve our capability for real-time and remote analysis, and miniaturization will enhance our ability to undertake in situ and in vivo analysis. Increasing globalisation of Analytical Chemistry, together with the increasing range of tasks within its remit, put an escalating burden on analytical chemists with regard to education, research and development of new analytical methods and approaches, their publication and, above all, their practical application in everyday life. The activities of EuCheMSDAC [3] are focused in this direction and can provide helpful support in addressing these demanding challenges as demonstrated in the following paragraphs. In our opinion, the main task of DAC is to promote Analytical Chemistry, for example by attracting more young people to study this exciting field of chemistry and increasing general awareness of the importance of the subject.

PITTCON’S RETURN TO THE CRESCENT CITY

THIS YEAR’S PITTSBURGH Conference & Exposition on Analytical Chemistry & Applied Spectroscopy (Pittcon 2008) will be held from Sunday, March 2, through Thursday, March 6, at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center in New Orleans. The meeting brings together scientific and technical professionals to share the latest information about analytical science and instrumentation. Pittcon 2008 will open the technical program on Sunday afternoon, starting at 1 PM. The afternoon will feature symposia, poster presentations, and contributed technical sessions, followed by an award presentation, plenary lecture, and a poster mixer. The American Chemical Society Division of Analytical Chemistry (ANYL) will once again cosponsor a portion of the Pittcon 2008 technical program. ANYL will host seven invited symposia, six contributed sessions, and a poster session. Conferee networking sessions are back for Pittcon 2008. Each two-hour session will provide an opportunity for conferees to meet and discuss topics of mutual intere...

The division of analytical chemistry of the European Association for Chemical and Molecular Sciences (EuCheMS). European analytical column No. 35 (January 2007)

The division of analytical chemistry of the European Association for Chemical and Molecular Sciences (EuCheMS). European analytical column No. 35 (January 2007)

On the occasion of Professor Werner Engewald’s 70th birthday

In this issue of Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry you will find a tribute to Professor Emeritus Werner Engewald on the occasion of his 70th birthday. I got to know Werner Engewald when I was a student at the University of Leipzig attending my first lectures on separation science. He has been a mentor and advisor ever since and it is my great honor and pleasure to start this issue with a few reflections on his work and vitae. Werner was born in Glauchau, a small town in Saxony, Germany, in August 1937. He studied chemistry at the University of Leipzig from 1957 to 1962 and obtained his Ph.D. in 1968. In the same year, he attended an international symposium on chromatography in Berlin, and I believe it was back then that he discovered his passion for the separation sciences. After postdoctoral studies in 1971 under A.V. Kislev at the Moscow State University he returned to Leipzig and obtained his habilitation in 1978. In 1979 he was appointed assistant professor in analytical chemistry, and later became a full professor. His scientific interests cover a broad range, including structure–retention relationships in gas chromatography, chromatographic multicomponent analysis, environmental trace analysis, and various sample preparation techniques. He is also interested in hyphenated techniques, such as GC–MS and GC–AED, adsorptive enrichment in combination with thermal desorption, pyrolysis GC, and more recently LC–MS techniques. Werner has mentored more than 35 Ph.D. students, and he is still in contact with many of them. He has published over 200 articles, reviews, and book chapters. Besides the challenging task of running a research group, Werner has always set time aside for professional activities such as serving as departmental head. Werner is also an active member of the separation science working group in the analytical chemistry division of the German Chemical Society; he has served as chairman of the working group and is still a board member of the analytical chemistry division of the German Chemical Society. Over the years he has participated on the editorial boards of several journals, including Fresenius’ Journal of Analytical Chemistry, and reviewed countless manuscripts. In cooperation with the German Chemical Society, he has organized many well-known training courses in gas Anal Bioanal Chem (2007) 388:1631–1632 DOI 10.1007/s00216-007-1380-2

Contributions of Professor Pier Giorgio Zambonin to analytical chemistry

On the occasion of his 72nd birthday it is our pleasure to congratulate Professor Pier Giorgio Zambonin for his outstanding scientific achievements and significant contributions to the growth of analytical chemistry. Pier Giorgio Zambonin, born in Castelguglielmo in 1935, received his doctorate in chemistry at the University of Padova in 1959. In 1963 he became assistente ordinario (Assistant Professor) at the University of Bari where he was among the founders of the local “Institute of Analytical Chemistry”. In 1966 he joined the laboratory of Professor Joseph Jordan at the Pennsylvania State University where he spent a three-year period as research associate. In 1971, he received the “libera docenza”, and in 1974 he became Full Professor at the University of Bari and, soon after he became Head of the Institute of Analytical Chemistry, a position held until 1981 when the Institute merged with the newly established Department of Chemistry. He is presently Head of the University Research Centre for Analytical Mass Spectrometry. As a member of the Italian Chemical Society, Pier Giorgio Zambonin was President of the Apulian Section for a total of nine years and President of the Division of Analytical Chemistry for three years. Since 1988 he has served as representative of the Italian Chemical Society in the Working Party for Analytical Chemistry—WPAC (now Division of Analytical Chemistry) of the Federation of European Chemical Societies (now EuCheMS). In 1996 he was Chairman of the ninth edition of the Euroanalysis conference held in Bologna (involving about 1,000 participants from all over the world and more than 900 scientific contributions). On that occasion he was awarded the Sigillum Magnum of the University of Bologna. The accompanying photo shows Professor Pier Giorgio Zambonin at Euroanalyis IX receiving an award of merit from Professor Arnaldo Liberti, dean of the Italian analytical chemists. As a member of the WPAC Study Group on “Education in Analytical Chemistry” he worked on the harmonization of teaching the discipline in European universities (the “Eurocurriculum”), contributing a chapter to the textbook Analytical Chemistry (Kellner R, Mermet J-M, Otto M, Valcarcel M, Widmer HM (eds) Wiley-VCH, Weinheim). The scientific career of Pier Giorgio Zambonin which started with enthalpimetric studies [1] moved soon to the field of molten salts, at that time, an appealing research area with large potential applications in fields such as nuclear energy, fuel cells, refractory metal deposition and heat transfer/storage. In this field Professor Zambonin rapidly became an internationally acknowledged leader creating the well-known Italian school [2]. A complete survey of his contribution to molten salt chemistry (fundamental aspects, electrochemistry, reaction mechanisms, gas–solute interactions, kinetic studies, etc.) would take a review article, so we purposely will focus on a very limited number of issues. Anal Bioanal Chem (2007) 389:2051–2053 DOI 10.1007/s00216-007-1280-5

Division of Analytical Chemistry at Voronezh State University

The article describes the main steps of the organization and development and the current status of activity of the Division of Analytical Chemistry at Voronezh State University.