Spot analysis
Spot analysis, spot test analysis, or spot test is a chemical test, a simple and efficient technique where analytic assays are executed in only one, or a few drops, of a chemical solution, preferably in a great piece of filter paper, without using any sophisticated instrumentation. The development and popularization of the test is credited to Fritz Feigl[1][2]
The test has been known in other languages as "Tüpfelanalyse" (German), "Analyse de Tâche" (French), "Análise de Toque" (Portuguese)[2] therefore in English literature a calque may be found: "touch analysis".
The method allowed for detection the substrate in a solution with dilution of 1:5,000 - 1:500,000,000.[2]
The foundations of Feigl's work on spot analysis were the works of Hugo Schiff (the earliest publication about "spot test" was Shiff's detection of uric acid in 1859[3]) and of Christian Friedrich Schonberg and Friedrich Goppelsröder on capillary analysis.[2]
On the occasion of Feigl's 70th birthday the Chemical Society of Midland sponsored a symposium in 1952, attended by 500 scientists from 24 countries, in which all plenary sessions were related to spot tests.[2]
See also
References
- ^ "Spot tests in organic analysis", numerous editions
- ^ a b c d e FRITZ FEIGL (1891-1971), Bull. Hist. Chem. 17/18 (1995) 31-39 (retrieved Feb. 21, 2013)
- ^ H. Schiff, Ann. Chim. Acta, 1859, 109, 67.