American Chemical Society
Teaching Chemical Information:
Tips and Techniques
— August 1998 —
Integrated In-Class Presentation
Examples: Analytical Chemistry Resources in the UCSB Library
Locating Books
To locate books on your topic, use the PEGASUS Online Catalog. As a starting point, use a keyword search on the likely terms. For a particular chemical substance (e.g. beryllium, amphetamines, ivory) or a class of substances (drugs, metals, pesticides) or a particular environment (water, soil, blood), combine your key term and the term “analysis”.
Example:
- k blood analysis
- k pesticides analysis
If you find a relevant record, check its subject headings to see if there is alternative terminology you should try. Similarly, use keyword searches to find books on particular analytical methods (mass spectrometry, atomic absorption). You may also want to browse in the book stacks. Books on analytical chemistry methods are grouped together in the range QD 75 – QD 139.
General Overview Works
- Comprehensive Analytical Chemistry (QD 75 .W5)
A 29 volume series, each volume dedicated to a particular analytical technique. See the list near the beginning of vol. 29 for a full list of volume titles. Contains lots of detailed information on the techniques covered.
- Encyclopedia of Analytical Science (QD 71.5 .E53 1995 SEL Ref Area)
This 10 volume set is recent and excellent for articles on specific analytes (e.g. “antimony”, “asbestos”, “carbohydrates”); matrices (“blood and plasma”, “ceramics”); specific methods (“atomic absorption spectrometry”) and general classes of analysis (“bioprocess analysis”, “forensic science”). The articles are not comprehensive review articles — they have relatively short bibliographies. The set has good tables of contents, with cross-references, and a good index in Vol. 10. This is a great starting point for your research.
- Encyclopedia of Chemical Technology (TP 9 .E685 SEL Ref Area)
Has good overview articles on both substances and analytical techniques. The Fourth Edition (started 1991) is only complete through the early S's, so you may have to check the Third Edition (began 1978) for some areas.
- Techniques of Chemistry (QD 61 .T4)
This multi-volume series covers techniques in several areas of chemistry, including some analytical areas. The volumes are individually cataloged on PEGASUS and MELVYL, so a keyword or title-word search in your area of interest should turn up the relevant volumes (e.g. thin-layer chromatography or electron spin resonance.)
- Treatise on Analytical Chemistry (QD 75 .K6
1st ed.; QD 75.2 .K4 1978 2nd ed.)
These multi-volume sets are very comprehensive. The first edition, begun in 1959, is divided into three parts, on “Theory and Practice”, “Analytical Chemistry of Inorganic and Organic Compounds” and “Analytical Chemistry in Industry”. It totals 33 volumes. The second edition has so far only published 12 of the 14 projected volumes of Part 1, and none of Parts 2 or 3. Excellent work, if becoming dated.
- Ullman's Encyclopedia of Industrial Chemistry
(TP 9 .U57 SEL Ref Area)
Volume B5 and part of B6 in this series are devoted to analytical methods. Very recent, solid overview articles, with good references.
Specific Methods
For books on specific methods, search on the PEGASUS Catalog as described above. One very recent work on a specific technique is:
- Encyclopedia of Nuclear Magnetic Resonance
(QC 762 .E53 1996 SEL Ref Area)
An excellent, highly detailed work on all types of NMR spectroscopy. Check the index for a specific type of NMR you may be interested in, or for specific types of substances; you might also want to look at the general section on quantitative NMR if you are considering NMR as an analytical tool.
Standard Methods
In some areas, professional or governmental organizations have issued standard analysis methods. Note that these may not be the very best or latest methods, but they are widely accepted standards.
- Standard Methods for the Examination of Water and Wastewater
(QD 142 .A5 SEL Ref Area)
A very useful compendium of detailed methods for analysis of various substances in water. The 17th ed. (1989) is in the reference collection; earlier editions are in the stacks.
- Annual Book of ASTM Standards
(TA 401 .A481 SEL Ref Area)
The American Society for Testing and Materials publishes a set of widely accepted testing standards, including many for analytical situations. To check this series, look in the index in Volume 00.01, under the various Chemical analysis headings and cross-references. Then go to the Volume and standard number specified.
- Official Methods of Analysis of the AOAC
(S 587 .A7)
The Association of Official Analytical Chemists (formerly the Association of Official Agricultural Chemists) has been producing this methods handbook for many years. It has detailed standard procedures for sampling and analysis, primarily for food, drugs, pesticides and other agricultural chemicals. The most recent two volume set of binders is in the SEL Ref Area. Not all procedures are printed in each edition; those which have not been revised are referred back to earlier editions. We keep the earlier editions of the series in the main SEL stacks.
Locating Articles
Review Articles
Many journals dealing with analytical chemistry and its methods publish review articles. Check PEGASUS and MELVYL for the titles of journals in your area of interest if you wish to browse for potential review articles, or use the journal article indexes described below to locate specific topics. One regularly published review series that merits special mention appears in Analytical Chemistry (QD 1 .A56). Each June, this ACS journal devotes an issue to reviewing the recent literature. In odd-numbered years, the review deals with Applications of Analysis; in even-numbered years, it deals with Fundamentals of Analysis. These are an excellent source of up-to-date information.
Articles on Specific Substances or Techniques
- CHEM-BANK (CD-ROM)
This CD, available from the SEL Reference Desk, contains five databases dealing with toxic chemical information. One of these, HSDB (Hazardous Substances Data Base), frequently contains brief information on analysis of the substance in various media. Search for your target substance either by Chemical Abstracts Registry Number (see below) or by name, searching in the pn (primary name) field (e.g. formaldehyde in pn). Display the record and page down to the section near the end of the record on analytic techniques. The references are listed by R#, and given in the reference list at the very end of the record.
- Current Contents on MELVYL
Current Contents surveys a large part of the analytical chemistry literature, back to 1989. However, be aware that you can only search by the words in the title of the article. There is no detailed indexing, and so you may miss relevant material if you search here only. However, it does contain recent material, and primarily in journals which UCSB owns.
- MEDLINE on MELVYL
MEDLINE indexes the world's medical literature, and as such is useful for finding articles on analysis in biological systems. Try the combination f kw analysis “substance” “material”; example: f kw amphetamine analysis urine. MEDLINE is divided into chronological segments: MED covers 1993-present, MED90 covers 1990-92, MED85 covers 1985-89, MED80 covers 1980-1984 and MED66 covers 1966-79.
- BIOSIS on MELVYL
The BIOSIS database indexes the biological sciences literature and is also very useful for finding articles on analysis in biological systems. Try the combination f kw analytical method “substance” “material”; example: f kw analytical method lead hair. BIOSIS on MELVYL covers 1988-present; if you need earlier years, we have the database on CD-ROM from 1980-87.
- Analytical Abstracts (QD 1 .A55 SEL Index Area)
This is an index devoted specifically to the literature of analytical chemistry. The indexing is specific and well-done. A subject index appears at the end of each numbered volume. The index will refer you to a number of the form 6D36; the first number is the issue in that volume, the letter refers to the section and the second number to the specific abstract within that section. When you find an article of interest, make sure to record the journal title, volume, date and page. You will then need to look up the journal title on PEGASUS or MELVYL to find the call number and determine whether UCSB owns the issue you need. Note: Our copy of AA ends in 1989. For more recent information, see Chemical Abstracts. There are no cumulative indexes for AA; you must search it one volume at a time.
- Chemical Abstracts (QD 1 .C43 SEL Index Area)
This is the most complete and comprehensive index to the chemical literature, but by virtue of its size, can be more difficult to use for some purposes. For either substances or techniques, check first in the Index Guide to make sure you have the correct terminology. For individual substances, then look in the Chemical Substance Index; for classes of substances or for techniques, look in the General Subject Index. Heavily researched substances may have subject subheadings attached, such as Lead, analysis. For less common substances, simply scan the list under the subject heading.
The years 1907-1991 are indexed in Cumulative Indexes covering 5 or 10 year periods. 1992-present are covered in Volume Indexes (6 months worth at a time). The cumulative indexes will give a volume and abstract number (e.g. 100:10715); volume indexes will just give the abstract number.
If you do not recognize a journal title from the Chemical Abstracts abbreviation, check the Chemical Abstracts Service Source Index (CASSI) available at the SEL Reference Desk, both in print and on CD-ROM. If you have trouble finding the correct chemical name for a substance in the Index Guide, try to locate its Chemical Abstracts Registry Number in the CRC Handbook, Merck Index or other handbook, then use the Registry Number Handbook to find the CA standard name.
Internet Resources
More and more resources of value to the analytical chemist are becoming available over the World Wide Web. Some are available free of charge, some are not. You may try using Internet search engines such as Yahoo, Infoseek, Alta Vista, etc.; however, depending on the keywords you choose, you may find nothing, or you may find large amounts of irrelevant material. It can be more effective to seek out sites which are specifically devoted to chemical information. Many such links can be found on the UCSB Library's InfoSurf Chemistry page (http://www.library.ucsb.edu/subj/chemistr.html).
Two resources you will find there of particular interest to the analytical chemist are:
- Analytical Chemistry Springboard
(http://www.anachem.umu.se/jumpstation.htm)
This is a great collection of analytical chemistry resources on the Internet maintained at Umea University in Sweden.
- Analytical Chemistry's LabGuide
(http://pubs.acs.org/lg/96/ac/lgpage.html)
This is the electronic version of the electronic catalog of analytical chemistry suppliers and manufacturers published by the ACS journal Analytical Chemistry. It is both well-organized for browsing, and searchable by keyword. While this will not provide you directly with data on analytical methods, it may help you locate sources of equipment or reagents.