Course on Advanced Analytical Chemistry and Chromatography

Methods of analytical chemistry constitute an integral part of decision making in chemical research, and students must master a high degree of knowledge, in order to perform reliable analysis. At DTU departments of chemistry it was thus decided to develop a course that was attractive to master students of different direction of studies, to Ph.D. students and to professionals that need an update of their current state of skills and knowledge. A course of 10 ECTS points was devised with the purpose of introducing students to analytical chemistry and chromatography with the aim of including theory, exercises, presentations, practices and procedures, and reporting. After the course the students are able to perform the tasks of analytical laboratories at the level of laboratory leader. Subjects of quality assurance are difficult to make interesting to the students but in this course exercises are included that encourage students in a competitive manner to demonstrate their laboratory skills under the conditions of method validation. This tutorial procedure proved successful in the sense that students were able to understand and report the results according to standard operations procedures. The students are provided with detailed oral instructions and limited instructions in writing thus allowing them to conceive their own approach to designing the experimental setup in close collaboration with teachers. There are several teachers of different DTU departments affiliated to the course allowing the students to meet the foremost experts of technology in specialized areas of chemical analysis and chromatography. Laboratory exercises are performed at different laboratories that provide access to high-quality apparatus. The students are evaluated by a report of exercises extending to 2½ ECTS and an oral examination in the remaining part of the syllabus covering 7.5 ECTS.