The European Analytical Column No. 36 from the Division of Analytical Chemistry (DAC) of the European Association for Chemical and Molecular Sciences (EuCheMS) January 2008 was published in newsletters and journals:
Bo Karlberg, Hendrik Emons and Jens E.T. Andersen
Tr. Anal. Chem., 27 (2008) 97-100, Accr. Qual. Assur. 13(4-5) (2008) 279-282.
A message from the Chairman of DAC: "A focus on education"
The European Analytical Column has a somewhat different format this time. From now and on it is our ambition to invite a guest columnist to give her/his view on various matters related to Analytical Chemistry in Europe. This year we have invited Prof. Hendrik Emons at the Institute for Reference Materials and Measurements (IRMM) to give his perspectives of Analytical Chemistry with inputs obtained from colleagues at the same institute. Recent activities of DAC and changes of its governance are also reported.
Analytical Chemistry in Europe has many facets and the Division of Analytical Chemistry, DAC, is discussing a broad range of them. I would like to focus my introduction of this European Analytical Column to one question:
Do we need analytical chemists with high quality education?
More than every second chemist working outside the educational system in the world is an analytical chemist. This factual circumstance is neglected in most European countries. If Europe wants to be competitive with respect to its industrial activities based on chemistry then a comprehensive and advanced education of skilled analytical chemists becomes crucial.
A high quality education in analytical sciences assumes a platform of high quality research. Unfortunately, the various governmental financing of research in analytical sciences in Europe does not reflect and nor does it meet the industrial needs. The grants that are given to analytical chemists are marginal and heavily disproportional in comparison with other chemistry branches. Consequently, there are too few high quality research platforms in analytical chemistry in Europe.
The recruitment of qualified analytical chemistry researchers at the universities is hampered by the fact that most industries can offer a skilled PhD in analytical chemistry a much more attractive environment than that of a university.
The recent developments in analytical sciences have provided a broad spectrum of tools and techniques. It is often difficult to find an expert and an appropriate education in a certain analytical discipline in some European countries. The position of analytical chemistry in Europe could be improved through formation of research networks, arrangement of advanced courses and conferences, etc. This is a challenge for us within DAC and EuCheMS during the years to come. A great deal has already been accomplished through the excellent work by Reiner Salzer regarding guidelines for the content of the education in analytical chemistry at the BSc level (Eurobachelor) [1].
The personal view of H. Emons on perspectives for Analytical Chemistry
What an exciting time for analytical chemistry: the demands for information about the interrelations of chemical composition – structure - properties for natural and man-made materials are exploding. Analytical data are requested in the spatial domain from the atomic/molecular scale within biological structures etc. to the scale of global earth observation and in time windows from femtoseconds in laser applications to millions of years for palaeoclimate research. An increasing number of production processes have to be controlled by on-line analysis. The rapid development of technologies with the prefixes 'nano' and 'bio' could not happen without analytical tools from scanning probe microscopies to LC-MSn.
In particular the progress in the so-called bio- and nanosciences is often driven by ideas as well as experimental and theoretical approaches which are based on multidisciplinary knowledge and cross-fertilisation among different scientific fields. This has lead to "identity" and image problems of traditional scientific disciplines and could complicate the attraction of bright students and junior scientists, of research funding and academic positions. Such detrimental effects have also been observed for analytical chemistry in several European countries in the last few years.
But do those phenomena really reflect a downhill trend of analytical chemistry? Let us just look into a few aspects of the bio- or life sciences: The “omics” are creating more chemical (molecular)-oriented analytical requests from biology and medicine than ever. For instance, proteomics research is stipulating significantly the further development of mass spectrometry and affinity assays. Analysis at the cellular and tissue level requires the drastic reduction of sample sizes, the controlled preparation of delicate, not very stable samples and improved detection capabilities including simultaneous multi-analyte quantification. The search for crucial human biomarkers is one of the most challenging tasks in clinical chemistry and can only be performed with powerful analytical tools and concepts. New non-invasive methods are needed for early tissue diagnosis without biopsy and for the acute monitoring of disease treatments, such as those of cancer therapy.
In addition the current "nano wave" is pushing material sciences not only much closer to atomic and quantum physics, but also into many areas of chemistry including modern analytical chemistry. For instance, the present discussions about possible health effects of some engineered nanoparticles can not be reduced to correlations of toxicological phenomena with morphology characteristics and will certainly in the future involve more chemical surface analysis at the nanoscale.
Obviously, there is not a shortage of exciting problems for analysts in many areas, both with cutting-edge scientific dimensions and with high societal and economic relevance. There are however awareness issues both within the analytical community and with respect to the perception by scientists from other disciplines, but also by regulators, the media, the public etc. According to my experience, a "simple" request from an 'outsider' to the analytical chemist that he should just perform a "routine" service by analysing a provided sample with respect to pre-specified parameters turns nowadays much more often into a fruitful scientific discussion and collaboration about defining together the analytical problem and on designing the measurement strategy which really could allow to answer the original question. Consequently, being able to use a mass spectrometer or a DNA sequencer does not make you an analytical chemist! Today, the analyst as a respected and valued scientific partner has to know and apply a range of analytical principles for identifying (often together with other specialists) the crucial measurand(s) for the question of interest, for establishing the metrological traceability and estimating the inherent uncertainty of provided analytical data. This requires an adequate education on generic principles of analytical chemistry including basics of statistical data evaluation, method validation, estimation and use of measurement uncertainties, systems for lab-internal and external quality control, etc.
There was - and still is – a strong tendency in many scientific areas, for instance in genomics or proteomics, to establish large collections of analytical data without the appropriate assessment of their reliability and/or without sufficient documentation on the data validation. Obviously the efforts towards data quantity and data quality, respectively, have to be re-balanced. This problem should also be considered seriously in the reviewing process of manuscripts prior to publication. I am not asking for a revival of the editorial principles of Justus von Liebig in the 19th century, who has accepted for the journal "Annalen für Chemie und Pharmacie" only manuscripts, for which the described experiments could be successfully repeated in his own laboratory. Nevertheless there are still too many papers published which claim to establish new analytical methods and procedures but fail to convince the discerning reader about their proper validation, or which report analytical data but do not provide convincing quality assurance information.
Obviously, the teaching and practicing of principles of analytical quality assurance and control (QA/QC) should be dealt with at more European universities in a systematic manner. Personally I do not favour separated courses on QA/QC, but would rather prefer the integration of such generic concepts and procedures into the analytical lecture courses and laboratory exercises which are teaching methods and applications. By this means a more practical, use-oriented quality knowledge and culture can be embedded in the young generations of analysts, instead of boring them with a definition- and regulation-focused "l'art pour l'art" approach to QA/QC. Such an education would also reduce to some extent the difference between curiosity-driven research in academics and the job content of many graduates of analytical chemistry in industrial laboratories or those of regulatory bodies. The latter two are putting often much more emphasis on quality management and compliance with international standards such as ISO/IEC 17025, a topic which may even not been known to the university teachers or graduates.
Many projects for analytical chemistry are currently driven by challenges from the implementation and monitoring of legislation. Indeed, there is an increasing demand for scientifically sound, reliable analytical data for regulatory decisions both at the European and the global level. For instance, the new EU Water Framework Directive requires the development of analytical procedures for new specified analytes such as short-chain chlorinated paraffins in various types of water. Methods with better precision are needed for measurements around legal limits - just think about decisions concerning the acceptance or rejection of food imports such as nuts because of their mycotoxin levels. There are needs for robust methods needed for controls outside a laboratory (e.g., at customs) or for large-scale screening of products or the environment, as well as for confirmatory/referee laboratory analysis in cases of dispute settlements. As the same analytical procedure is rarely fit for all the different purposes, the demanded variety will keep many of us busy for the years to come.
Without being in possession of a crystal ball one can predict for the near future advances of analytical chemistry in a number of general directions, among them are the further pushing of performance limits of analytical methods (such as smaller 'target' sizes to achieve high spatial resolution, faster analysis for real-time or high-throughput data), simultaneous multi-parameter analysis of increasingly complex systems (living organisms, ecosystems, etc.) including their non-target screening, progress of non-invasive methods, provision of "sustainable" analytical data with demonstrated reliability (both precision and trueness) which are fit for the purpose of making qualified decisions. Moreover, the miniaturisation of devices, laboratory automation and on-line process analysis are likely to continue as trendsetters. Above all the abilities of well trained and continuously updated analytical chemists to combine their specific competences with interdisciplinary approaches in a problem-solving oriented manner are providing our discipline a bright future!
New DAC governance
Heiner Korte, Germany, resigned as Secretary for the Division of Analytical Chemistry (DAC) after nine years of service. His successor, Jens E. T. Andersen, Denmark, was appointed at the 2007 Annual DAC meeting in Antwerp for the period 2008-2010. Heiner has efficiently served two Chairmen during the period 1999-2007 and due to his professional contributions to the current structure and organisation DAC has gained wide respect and appreciation in the European analytical chemistry community and amongst his EuCheMS colleagues. The DAC Steering Committee was also appointed at the Annual meeting: George Horvai, Hungary, Wolfgang Buchberger, Austria, Paul Worsfold, UK, Jens E. T. Andersen, Denmark (Secretary) and Bo Karlberg, Sweden (re-elected Chairman for the period 2008-2010). At this meeting it was also decided that DAC supported the continuation of the Study Group of quality assurance. Jens E.T. Andersen took over from Wolfhard Wegscheider after his longtime effort as head of the Study Group. Jens E.T. Andersen was also appointed as the liaison person to EuraChem and to CITAC.
Information from the EuCheMS Division of Analytical Chemistry
The Euroanalysis conference is the main event of the DAC, and is was excellently organised by Koen Janssens and Luc Van't Dack under the auspices of Flemish Chemical Society KVCV. The conference was held under the general theme “The role of Analytical Chemistry in the preservation of mankind’s natural and cultural environment”, and it was attended by 650 participants of 50 countries worldwide providing more than 800 contributions. The stimulating scientific program including fully booked poster sessions was interspersed with interesting booths of instrument manufacturers and publishers. Prof. Alfredo Sanz-Medel of Oviedo University in Spain gave the “Robert Kellner Lecture” that is sponsored by Springer Verlag. “The Merck Award” was awarded to Alexander Makarov of Thermo Finnigan for his development of the orbitrap analyzer of mass spectrometry and to Prof. Shuming Nie of Georgia Institute of Technology for introducing quantum dots to clinical analysis and diagnosis. Euroanalysis XV with the motto “The impact of Analytical Chemistry on Quality of Life” is planned for Innsbruck in September 6-11, 2009, and is now visible at www.EUROANALYSIS2009.at.
In 2008 DAC will contribute to the second general conference on Chemistry in Turin 16-20 September. DAC focuses on metrology in chemistry and thus promotes its continuing effort within the field of quality assurance. Prof. Manfred Grasserbauer will present a lecture entitled “The Environmental Challenge for Analytical Sciences”. This will continue the process of involving in DAC the work of analytical chemists of the public sector, industry and academia.
Europe has a central role over the centuries in developing analytical chemistry, and Prof. Duncan Burns continues his effort within the frames of DAC with “Contributions to the History of Analytical Chemistry in Europe made via DAC-EuCheMS”. This work resulted in several publications, including with L. Sabattini an account for the History of Analytical Chemistry of Italy published this year preceding the conference in Turin 2008.
It is important to DAC to maintain networking with the other Divisions of EuCheMS, which are occupied by corresponding scientific issues. The cooperation is fostered by appointing liaison persons who relate to education, history, life sciences, food, environment, electrochemistry, computations, microsystems, IUPAC and Eurachem. The developments of quality assurance and quality control are followed with great interest because these subjects have a profound impact on a wide range of applications that are also considered and supervised by the European commission. Although highly specialised conferences are increasing in numbers and popularity, it is important to communicate actively across the borders defined by technologies, which ensures a high level of science, education and innovation. The contact to other divisions, to supranational boards and to non-European societies is aided by DAC-observers. Updated information on DAC activities may be found at www.dac-euchems.org.
Acknowledgement
The authors are indebted to A. Bernreuther, R. Koeber, T. Linsinger, and B. Toussaint, IRMM, for valuable input.
References
[1] R. Salzer, Anal. Bioanal. Chem. (2004) 378:28-32.
Prof. Bo Karlberg
Department of Analytical Chemistry
Stockholm University
10691 Stockholm, Sweden
Fax: +46 8 156391
Tel: +46 8 164316
bo.karlberg@anchem.su.se
Dr. Jens E.T. Andersen (author to whom correspondence should be addressed)
Technical University of Denmark
Department of Chemistry
Kemitorvet building 207
DK-2800, Kgs. Lyngby, Denmark
Fax: +45 45 88 31 36
Tel: +45 45 25 23 48
jeta@dac-euchems.org