NWNR100051 Exercises in instrumental analytical chemistry

Type
course with continuous assessment
Semester hours
6
Lecturer (assistant)
Hettegger, Hubert , Musl, Oliver , Beaumont, Marco , Luef, Christoph , Vasilieva, Viktoriya , Viehauser, Petra , Steininger-Mairinger, Teresa , Kastner, Bruna , Steiner-Friedmann, Christina , Hann, Stephan , Causon, Tim , Fischer, Elisabeth , Kandler, Wolfgang , Scharl-Hirsch, Theresa
Organisation
Analytical Chemistry
Offered in
Sommersemester 2026
Languages of instruction
Englisch
Content

Dive into the fascinating world of instrumental analytical chemistry with this elective module, where hands-on exercises explore real-world applications in food and biotechnology. The module includes the following seven examples:

Major and Trace Elements in Honey Samples
Analysis is performed using our novel ICP-AES system. You will perform quantification of the analytes via external calibration with internal standardization. Primary emphasis is that you learn and understand contamination-free analytical procedures.

Inorganic and Organic Arsenic Species in Rice
Ion chromatography coupled with ICP-AES is used to analyze arsenic species. The focus of this example is on chemical speciation, i.e. the separation and detection of different arsenic containing molecules. The toxicity of arsenic depends on the species! Moreover, you will learn about various sample extraction strategies.

Caffeine in beverages
Quantify caffeine in coffee, tea or energy drinks - any caffeine containing drink you bring along. Learn how to extract the caffeine from drinks which may contain high amounts of fat, proteins and sugar prior to GC-MS quantification. Are you sure you detect caffeine? What is the confidence level of your identity confirmation? In addition, find out how to minimize analytical errors.

Nitrate in Natural Water
The EU Nitrates Directive mandates Member States to monitor waters for nitrate concentrations on a regular base. Ion chromatography with conductometric detection will be employed to control the environmental limits. The learning focus is on understanding method-intrinsic errors and on identifying potential error sources.

Products and Intermediates in Fermentation Biotechnology Samples
Get familiar with a routine method you will find in all biotech labs and identify the pitfalls. Ion exclusion HPLC with refractive index and spectrophotometric detection is used to determine various biotechnologically relevant compounds in fermentation supernatants. Another emphasis of this example lies on instrument maintenance and the design of analytical experiments.

Coumarin in Tonka Beans
The quantification of the coumarin content in Tonka beans is highly relevant in food safety assessment. Learn how to synthesize an internal standard compound, which is subsequently used for the quantitative analysis. You will learn how to prepare the standard compound via instrument-assisted synthesis in a flow reactor. You will obtain results of structural analysis from NMR and FTIR methods and learn how to assess the quaality of you synthesis product. Afterwards, you will analyse Tonka beans by high-performance liquid chromatography with a photodiode array detector.

Determination of Measurement Uncertainty
The uncertainty of analytical data is essential for reliable interpretation and decisions. A theoretical example is provided to teach the calculation of measurement uncertainty following the Eurachem Guide “Quantifying Uncertainty in Analytical Measurement, 3rd Edition (2012)”.

Learn how to write an Introduction, an Experimental, a Results and Discussion section and how to use a Bibliographic Management Software - you will need this knowledge for your Bachelor thesis!
Previous knowledge expected

Interest in chemical analytical processes
Previous laboratory experience recommended
Objective (expected results of study and acquired competences)

Upon successfully completing this elective module, students will be able to:

Explain Key Analytical Concepts
Describe practical analytical concepts and their underlying methodological principles.

Select and Apply Instrumental Analytical Methods
Choose appropriate analysis methods for specific research questions, apply them effectively, process analytical data and generate statistical assessment, interpret the findings reliably and present results professionally.

Demonstrate Independent Application
Independently apply the acquired knowledge and practical skills, both theoretically and experimentally, in an analytical context.
You can find more details like the schedule or information about exams on the course-page in BOKUonline.