Principles of analytical calibration/quantification for the separation sciences

Calibration is an operation whose main objective is to know the metrological status of a measurement system. Nevertheless, in analytical sciences, calibration has special connotations since it is the basis to do the quantification of the amount of one or more components (analytes) in a sample, or to obtain the value of one or more analytical parameters related with that quantity. Regarding this subject, the aim of analytical calibration is to find an empiric relationship, called measurement function, which permits subsequently to calculate the values of the amount (x-variable) of a substance in a sample, from the measured values on it of an analytical signal (y-variable). In this paper, the metrological bases of analytical calibration and quantification are established and, the different work schemes and calibration methodologies, which can be applied depending on the characteristic of the sample (analyte+matrix) to analyse, are distinguished and discussed. Likewise, the different terms and related names are clarified. A special attention has been paid to those analytical methods which use separation techniques, in relation with its effect on calibration operations and later analytical quantification.