Analytical Supercritical Fluid Extraction (Springer Lab Manuals) - Tapa dura

Recent advances in analytical chemistry have turned it into a virtually unrecognizable science compared to a few decades ago, when it lagged behind other sciences and techniques. However, advances in analytical science have been far from universal: while innovations in instrumentation and data acquisition and processing systems have reached unprecedented levels thanks to parallel breakthroughs in computer science and chemo­ metrics, progress in preliminary operations has been much slower despite their importance to analytical results. Thus, such clear trends in analytical process development as automation and miniaturization have not reached preliminary operations to the same extent, even though this area is pro­ bably in the greatest need. Improvement in preliminary operations is thus an urgent goal of analytical chemistry on the verge of the twenty first century. Increased R&D endeavours and manufacture of commercially available automatic equipment for implementation of the wide variety of operations that separate the uncollected, unmeasured, untreated sample from the signal measuring step are thus crucial on account of the wide variability of such operations, which precludes development of all-purpose equipment, and the complexity of some, particularly relating to solid samples. Supercritical fluid extraction opens up interesting prospects in this context and is no doubt an effective approach to automatioI1 and mini­ aturization in the preliminary steps of the analytical process. The dramatic developments achieved in its short life are atypical in many respects.

This book details all important aspects of this analytical technique. Special attention is given to the set-up of the extractor and to off-line and on-line coupling. The applications given by the authors cover the wide range from environmental and food samples to industrial and clinical analysis. The book also contains a critical comparison of other extraction methods and discusses different coupling techniques. The book helps the novice to adopt this method in his laboratory and provides the experienced practitioner with ideas and information necessary to optimise this successful new analytical technique.