Quantitative organic analysis

The course will give insight into the most common methodologies for analyses of organic compounds, the way they are applied in fields like medicine, in industry, and for environmental and food analyses.

The theory behind mass spectrometry and analytical separation methods, such as chromatography and electrophoresis, will be explained. In addition, it will be shown how different techniques can be coupled to achieve the necessary selectivity when complex mixtures are analysed. The course will also give skills in practical applications of chromatographic and mass spectrometric equipment.

On completion of the course the student should have the following learning outcomes defined in terms of knowledge, skills and general competence:

Knowledge

The student

• understands the fundamental principles of chromatography and electrophoresis
• has knowledge about chromatographic separation methods, such as reversed phase, normal phase, ion chromatography and gas chromatography
• knows the function of modern chromatographic equipment
• knows the function of the most common ionization techniques in mass spectrometry
• knows the function of mass spectrometric equipment
• understands how coupled chromatographic techniques and tandem mass spectrometry are applied to increase selectivity.

Skills

The student

• can choose a suitable separation principle for given analytes and types of samples
• can evaluate the quality of a chromatographic separation and suggest ways to improve it
• can choose suitable mass spectrometric conditions for given analytes and sample types

General competence

The student

• can apply strategies for optimization
• can conduct experiments to concretise and verify theoretical knowledge