Chiang Mai Journal of Science

Analytical chemistry has played an important role in the development of civil societies and commerce throughout history. The perceived value of gold and silver probably was the first incentive to acquire analytical knowledge. Analytical chemists today play key roles in the function of modern societies, impacting nearly all aspects of our lives. Agricultural, clinical, environmental, forensic, manufacturing, and pharmaceutical testing are a few examples. Modern instrumentation gives analytical chemists incredible capabilities to measure complex mixtures for organic compounds and trace metals, with abilities for speciation and time and spatial resolution. Some of the tools we use and the information we can obtain from them are described as examples of what the profession of analytical chemistry is about.