Coursera - Analytical Chemistry / Instrumental Analysis - Rice University

If chemistry is the science of stuff, then analytical chemistry answers the question: what is it? And how much of it do you have? This course teaches how to do this with instrumental analysis!

This course covers about a half a semester of instrumental analysis which is a standard part of the undergraduate chemistry curriculum. Any chemist has to understand how to analyze samples - whether they are water samples, blood samples or bits of a painting. Most often chemists do this using instruments of some sort. Machines like mass spectrometers or gas chromatographs can indicate both what's in a sample (qualitative) as well as how much of something there is(quantitative). If you are fascinated by shows like CSI, and have enough basic chemistry, this course would be great for you. However, the course is first and foremost designed for chemistry students working towards their degree.

Students who complete this class will understand that analytical instruments are not black boxes, but rather complex tools whose utility depends in detail on how analysts both configure and apply them. Towards that end there are three pimary objectives. First, students will learn facts about major classes of instruments commonly used in chemical analysis. Their knowledge will be captured by the ability to block diagram these complex pieces of equipment, and tailor the specifications to the measurement needs. Second, the course will cover the basics of instrumental calibration and quality control. Analysts will develop the ability to apply calibration curves, internal standards and the method of standard addition as needed for various measurement problems. Finally, students must learn how to select and tailor the best instrumental method given a particular measurement need. This higher level skill involves critical evaluation of the strengths and limitations of the various method, and the ability to understand the context behind a measurement need.
This course will provide students with a background in modern analytical chemistry with an emphasis on instrumentation. Applications of instrumental analytical chemistry in medicine, forensics and materials science will be presented.

Course objectives:
To reinforce chemical principles central to analytical chemistry.
To introduce instrumental techniques for chemical measurement.
To develop critical thinking for interpreting analytical data.
To select instrumentation appropriate to the measurement need.

Week 1: Overview of instrumental analysis and basic chemistry review
Week 2: Atomic spectroscopies and the analysis of metals
Week 3: Calibration, QA/QC, and improving instrumental analysis
Week 4: The basic principles of chromatography
Week 5: Gas chromatography
Week 6: Liquid chromatography
Week 7: Vibrational spectroscopies
Week 8: Electronic and optical sensors

Instructed by:

Vicki Colvin is the Kenneth S. Pitzer-Schlumberger Professor of Chemistry and Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at Rice University. Most recently, she has served as the Director of the Center for Biological and Environmental Nanotechnology (CBEN), which was one of the nation's first nanoscience and engineering centers. Vicki's current research explores how nanoscale particles interact with the environment and living systems. She has received accolades for her teaching abilities including the Phi Beta Kappa's Teaching Prize (1998-1999) and the Camille Dreyfus Teacher Scholar Award (2002). In 2007, Vicki was named a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), the world's largest general scientific society, and in early 2011, she was named a Fellow of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering. In 2012 she was recognized as one of the most highly cited researchers in the ACS journal Chemistry of Materials. She is an author on over one hundred papers and holds multiple patents in the area of nanotechnology.

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