Chemistry International
Vol. 24, No. 5
September 2002
Highlights
from Pure and Applied Chemistry
Information
Essential for Characterizing a Flow-Based Analytical System (IUPAC Technical
Report)
by Elias
A.G. Zagatto, Jacobus F. van Staden, Nelson Maniasso, Raluca I. Stefan,
and Graham D. Marshall
Pure and Applied
Chemistry, Vol. 74, No. 4, pp. 585-592 (2002)
Terminology
related to classification and definition of analytical methods based
on flowing media, as well as terms describing the flow-based analytical
procedure or system and its components have been presented in previous
publications, including Pure and Applied Chemistry and the "Orange
Book," 3rd edition. However, a literature survey reveals that a
number of such analytical procedures and/or related instrumentation
are only partially described. As a proper description of any methodology
is essential, it is important to complement the earlier recommendations
by taking into account the recent progress in flow analysis. The objective
of this report is to provide guidelines for characterizing a flow analyzer
and/or related flow-based methods, emphasizing the minimum but adequate
information that should be included in scientific or technical reports.
Aspects more related to chromatographic procedures are not considered.
According
to the report, for a complete description of a flow system, the following
elements should be considered and described: flow pattern (technique),
stream parameters, sample introduction (with possibility of reagent
introduction), manifold, sample processing, and detection. The report
also describes the following important performance parameters of a flow-based
procedure: sampling rate, analytical characteristics, robustness, and
portability.
This report
should benefit practitioners and developers by permitting normalized
proposals to be presented in the field of flow analysis. The authors
intend to use this report to prepare a checklist that will lead to a
protocol for reporting results and systems in flow analysis, which would
result in the development of systems that are more consistently designed.
www.iupac.org/publications/pac/2002/7404/7404x0585.html