Organic Elemental Analysis in IOCB - Past & Present

The Analytical Laboratory, formerly named Central Analytical Laboratory or Laboratory of Organic Elemental Analysis, is a part of the IOCB from its foundation in early fifties of the 20-th century. At the beginning the laboratory was a key source of information about either newly synthesized compounds or the isolated ones from natural materials. The laboratory, however, gradually lost its original performance because of the onset and the development of new physico-chemical methods of analysis. The Laboratory of Organic Elemental Analysis was a part of the Mass Spectrometry group since 1996. In the year 2007 the laboratory was separated as a service department. The laboratory was superintended by Jiøí Horáèek, later by Václav Pechanec. Since January 2007 the Analytical laboratory is headed by Stanislava Matìjková. The laboratory performed many types of classical chemical analyses including elemental analysis (C, H, N, S, P and halogens), determination of ¹⁴C and ²H, volumetric determination of double and triple bonds, chemical determination of some functional groups, iodine number and saponification number.

The first automatic analyzer Perkin Elmer 240 A was purchased in 1969, a new model 2450 C in 1983 and the current PE 2400 II instrument in 1999. An instrument for optical rotation measurement Autopol IV Rudolph Research Analytical was purchased in 2001. A CyberScan Ion 510 Meter with fluoride ion-selective electrode was purchased in 2006.

Since 2008 the analytical laboratory has been equipped with the simultaneous energy-dispersive x-ray fluorescence spectrometer SPECTRO iQ II. Currently, we can perform routinely (i) automated determination of C, H, N, (ii) identification/determination of the content of elements in range from Na (Al) to U in different types of samples by using XRF-analysis, (iii) "classical" titrimetric determination of S, P and halogens, (iv) potentiometric determination of fluorine using of ion-selective electrode, (v) determination of some functional groups, and (vi) precise weighing of materials.