Research Activities

The core activity is the development of new analytical methods, procedures and instrumentation, as well as the study of reaction systems and equilibria important in analytical chemistry. Major research areas include chromatography, spectroscopy, electroanalytical techniques, flow analysis, chemometrics, and automated and robotic analysis.

Areas of focus include in particular the study of interactions between metals and antibiotics/chemotherapeutics, pesticides and humic substances; research and characterisation of chemical species; studies of the role of transition metals in oxidative media; characterisation and stabilisation of organic materials, especially polymeric ones; study of electrode processes and the development of voltammetric analysis techniques and sensors; study of separation and preconcentration processes (dialysis, solid-phase extraction); theoretical aspects of separation systems in ion chromatography; food analytics (wine, meat and cheese); trace metal analytics; development of atomic spectroscopy procedures (AAS, ICP-MS); atmospheric chemistry; applications of chemometric approaches in analytical chemistry. The Heritage Science Laboratory Ljubljana (HSLL) also operates within the chair.

Collaborations have also been developed with foreign universities (UCL University College London, SIU Carbondale, USA, Universities of Warsaw and Krakow, Poland, Karl Franzens University Graz and University of Vienna, Austria, University of Pardubice, Czech Republic, University of Hull, UK and University of Lisbon, Portugal) and many other institutes. Research partners in Slovenia include the National Institute of Chemistry, the Jozef Stefan Institute, the National and University Library, the Biotechnical Faculty of the University of Ljubljana, the Agricultural Institute, the Faculty of Pharmacy and others.

Within the UL, the Chair of Analytical Chemistry manages the platform for ESFRI European Research Infrastructure for Heritage Science.

Cooperation with industry includes service activities, seminars and applied research and development of prototype analytical instruments.