Does chemometrics enhance the performance of electroanalysis?

Area of Science:

• Analytical Chemistry
• Chemometrics
• Electroanalytical Methods

Background:

• Electroanalysis, utilizing techniques like voltammetry and electronic tongues, has expanded its applications.
• Chemometrics methods offer improvements for simultaneous quantitative prediction and qualitative resolution of complex electroanalytical responses.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore how chemometrics methods enhance the performance of electroanalytical techniques.
• To provide a guide for analysts on applying chemometrics in various electroanalytical fields.
• To compare the performance of electroanalytical methods with spectrophotometric procedures.

Main Methods:

• Review of established and novel electroanalytical techniques (e.g., potentiometric titrations, electronic noses).
• Application of chemometrics methods including Partial Least Squares (PLS), Artificial Neural Networks (ANNs), and Multiple Curve Resolution (MCR-ALS, N-PLS, PARAFAC).
• Focus on specific application areas: food, pharmaceuticals, pesticides, and environmental analysis.

Main Results:

• Chemometrics enables simultaneous quantitative prediction and qualitative resolution of complex overlapping signals in electroanalysis.
• The combination of chemometrics with electronic tongue and nose sensors shows significant growth.
• Electroanalytical methods demonstrate comparable performance to spectrophotometric procedures based on figures-of-merit.

Conclusions:

• Chemometrics methods demonstrably enhance electroanalytical technique performance.
• Partial Least Squares (PLS-1) is identified as a practical method for quantitative analysis when a prediction error of approximately +/-10% is acceptable.
• Electroanalytical methods offer a viable alternative to spectrophotometric procedures in many applications.