LABORATORY OF ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY INSTRUMENTAL - MOD.2

The teaching of Instrumental Analytical Chemistry is part of the training activities characterizing the three-year degree course in Chemistry and Sustainable Technologies, and is aimed at providing students with the appropriate preparation to deal with a chemical problem in its various aspects and with the appropriate use of the current technical-scientific language.

The course is divided into two modules (defined Module 1 and Module 2), each of them divided into theory classes (held in the classroom) and laboratory lessons. Both modules have common training objectives listed below:

1. To provide knowledge of the general principles on which the instrumental analytical techniques most commonly used in chemical analysis laboratories are based.
2. To provide knowledge on the functioning of the instrumentation and on the modality of reading the responses obtained from the different types of instruments and their correlation with the relevant theoretical aspects
3. Develop critical mind that allows students to evaluate the potentials, advantages and limits of the different instrumental analytical techniques studied
4. Introduce the students to the conscious evaluation of the role of instrumental analytical methods in the specific area of quality control of a good
5. Develop skills in the evaluation and reliability of analytical data.
6. Develop manual skills and ability to conduct experiments autonomously, working both alone and in groups.
7. To develop the ability to apply an analytical method in coherence with protocols already defined and / or established by specific laws.
8. Develop skills in the collection, organization and processing of experimental data and the ability to present them in written and / or graphic form, using the appropriate scientific language.
9. Develop skills to critically interpret and evaluate the experimental results and verify their congruence with the theoretical laws that underlie the techniques used.

The expected results are defined according to the different contents of the two modules in which the Instrumental Analytical Chemistry course is divided.

1. Knowledge and understanding
A) Knowledge and practical understanding of the elements that make up the chromatographic instruments both in the gas chromatography and in the high performance liquid chromatography.

2. Ability to apply knowledge and understanding
A) Ability to use the tools available in the laboratory to obtain the best instrumental performances from a given analytical method.
B) To be able to choose, on the basis of the experimental results, the most suitable instrument to perform an analytical measurement on synthetic (simple) or real samples containing single or mixtures of analytes.

3. Ability to judge
A) Ability to evaluate the quality of the experimental responses obtained from the different analytical instrumentation considered.
B) Being able to identify, on the basis of experimental data, anomalous instrumental responses generated by the electronic and electrical components that constitute the instrumentation considered. For example, know how to distinguish between useful signal (due to the analyte) and background noise (due to electronic and electrical components). Knowing how to identify the effects linked to the nature of the matrix in which the analytes are present and to separate the relative signals.

4. Communication skills
A) Knowing how to report with the appropriate language, scientifically correct, the results obtained from the different experiences carried out in the laboratory.
B) Knowing how to argue with scientific and written consistency the meaning of the analytical data obtained from the experimental measures


5. Learning skills
A) Develop the ability to collect data obtained during practical experiences and process them autonomously.
B) Reporting, in a scientifically coherent language, readable even to non-expert users, the results in a written report.

To have achieved the training objectives of: Institution of mathematics 1 and 2; Physics 2, Analytical chemistry, General and inorganic chemistry, possibly (but not necessarily) having passed the examination of these teachings.

To achieve the training objectives and the expected learning outcomes, as regards the part performed in the laboratory, the contents developed in module 2, for classes 1 and 2, are described as follows.

1) GC: Gas chromatography with FID detector. Development and control of the various instrumental parameters (gas flows, programmed temperature, etc); use of the instrumental software to perform the measurements. Identification and determination of the content of low molecular weight aliphatic hydrocarbons and aromatic hydrocarbons in wastewater, applying the method of quantification of the internal standard.
2) HPLC: reverse phase liquid chromatography. Performance of a LC-18 reverse phase chromatography column, using three analytes. Optimization of the analyte separation procedure by varying the composition of the mobile phase, in both isocratic and gradient conditions, and the flow. Quality control and determination of the content of the active component of a drug.
3) IC: Ion-exchange chromatography with conductivity detector. Determination of various ionic species in natural waters, applying the methods of quantification of the calibration curve and of the standard addition.

As a support to the study of the instrumentation used in the laboratory, please refer to the teaching texts indicated in the syllabus of the theoretical part. For the execution of the experience and the way on how to report analytical data, students are provided of laboratory lecture notes containing details on the instrumentation used, the analytical procedures for the identification and quantification of the various analytes, and how to make a report concerning the experimental results obtained from the laboratory measurements.

The learning assessment related to the laboratory activity, module 2, is carried out through the evaluation of written reports on each of the experiments conducted in the laboratory. The report will be unique for each group and must be delivered one week after the experience has been completed. The report will be evaluated on the basis of the scientific consistency in reporting the data obtained experimentally, the proper use of the units of measurement and significant figures, the ability to process the data following the standard methods of quantification (for example the construction of calibration lines, use of the method of the standard addition and the internal standard), the use of simple statistical methods to establish the significance of the analytical data.
At the end of each series of experiences, a written test will be conducted for each student to establish the degree of understanding of the experimental operations performed in the laboratory.

The course includes a series of experimental measurements with the chromatographic instrumentation available in the teaching laboratory. Students will work in groups (3-4 people for each group). For each series of experiments, the various tools will be presented to the various groups of students beforehand. Information will be provided on the potential critical nature of the execution of some practical operations, on the appropriate use of materials, also in relation to the safety and toxicity of the chemicals employed. We will indicate how to transfer instrumental data to spreadsheets for the subsequent processing of the acquired information.

Attendance to the laboratory course is mandatory and only one day of absence is admitted, however to be agreed with the teacher.

Accommodation and support services for students with disabilities and students with specific learning impairments:
Ca’ Foscari abides by Italian Law (Law 17/1999; Law 170/2010) regarding support services and accommodation available to students with disabilities. This includes students with mobility, visual, hearing and other disabilities (Law 17/1999), and specific learning impairments (Law 170/2010). In the case of disability or impairment that requires accommodations (i.e., alternate testing, readers, note takers or interpreters) please contact the Disability and Accessibility Offices in Student Services: disabilita@unive.it.

written and oral