Perspective

Cite This: Anal. Chem. 2017, 89, 11167-11172 pubs.acs.org/ac

Usefulness of Analytical Research: Rethinking Analytical R&D&T

Strategies
Miguel Valcárcel*
Spanish Royal Academy of Sciences, Valverde 24, 28071 Madrid, Spain

ABSTRACT: This Perspective is intended to help foster true

innovation in Research & Development & Transfer (R&D&T) in
Analytical Chemistry in the form of advances that are primarily
useful for analytical purposes rather than solely for publishing.
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Devising effective means to strengthen the crucial contribution of

Analytical Chemistry to progress in Chemistry, Science &
Technology, and Society requires carefully examining the present
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status of our discipline and also identifying internal and external

driving forces with a potential adverse impact on its development.
The diagnostic process should be followed by administration of an
effective therapy and supported by adoption of a theragnostic
strategy if Analytical Chemistry is to enjoy a better future.

■ INNOVATION IN ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY

Rather than being provocative or polemic, this Perspective is
intended to stimulate debate and rethinking of a much need
different approach to Research, Development and Transfer of
Knowledge and Technology (R&D&T) in Analytical Chem-
istry. I have deliberately replaced “innovation”, the third term in
the classical R&D&I triad, with “transfer” here for good
reasons. As originally conceived by Einstein and Kuhn,
innovating involves creating new paradigms, breaking tradi-
tional scientific and technical barriers, taking side roads,
avoiding duplication in the form of variations on a well-worn
theme, and braving the risk of failing (see Figure 1, which
depicts the concept in its broadest sense and also in relation to
Science & Technology and to other areas of knowledge).
Innovation is an essential ingredient for any strategy
intended to fulfill the priority actions of Science & Technology
as defined in the Lund Declaration of 2015 on the grand
societal challenges.1 All areas of knowledge should have a well-
defined ranking of objectives consistent with their paradigms. Figure 1. (A) Schematic definition of “true innovation”. (B)
At the top of the Analytical Chemistry ranking is production of Transversal application of the concept in the three steps of the
reliable (bio)chemical information, assuring that such informa- R&D&T sequence in Science & Technology and in other areas of
tion possesses a high metrological quality and effectively knowledge. Note that the last step in the sequence is named “Transfer”
fulfilling the requirements of those demanding the informa- instead of the more usual “Innovation”.
tion.2 One new paradigm for Analytical Chemistry could be
implementing direct routine analyses in order to reliably bypass
preliminary operations, which are a bottleneck in many however risky stepping into the “quicksand” of change may be.
analytical processes; in fact, as pointed out by my research According to Kuhn and Galison, Dyson’s question “Is science
group log ago,3 preliminary operations are typically time- mostly driven by ideas or by tools?”4 is incomplete because basic
consuming and the principal source of determinate and scientific developments should be additionally driven by the
indeterminate errors. Therefore, evolving to reliable direct need to face human challenges. In Analytical Chemistry, this
analyses is essential for our discipline to progress. implies making the demands of (bio)chemical information, and
Innovation implicitly or explicitly calls for a change of
mentality, one by which facts and concepts that have been Received: September 26, 2017
widely accepted before are challenged to construct new Accepted: September 27, 2017
knowledge consistent with present times and societal needs Published: September 27, 2017

© 2017 American Chemical Society 11167 DOI: 10.1021/acs.analchem.7b03935

Anal. Chem. 2017, 89, 11167−11172
Analytical Chemistry
the characteristics of the information, the third basic standard in
addition to the two classical ones,5,6 namely, reference
(tangible) materials and written standards. Below are described
the most needed innovation lines for Analytical Chemistry.
Identifying misguided approaches to useful R&D&T in
Analytical Chemistry entails unambiguously defining what true
innovation in our discipline is. Also, it requires diagnosing the
complex present status not only of Analytical Chemistry but
also of Science & Technology in general; in fact, both are under
growing “ailments” caused by a body of compounding adverse
factors that necessitate an effective “therapy” or “theragnosis”, a
combination of “therapy” and “diagnosis”.
Innovating in Analytical Chemistry unavoidably entails
considering its contradictory aims (metrological quality and
problem-solving) as well as its maximizing (more, better
analytical information) and minimizing objectives (less material,
time, effort, cost and risk), which are also mutually contra-
dictory. A sound balance among these antagonistic components
can only be established by previously accepting the inescapable
need for “quality trade-offs” in our discipline.
■ USEFULESS OF ANALYTICAL R&D&T
What does “usef ul analytical research” mean? The answer is not
easy and can be approached from different angles. For example,
to young and junior analytical researchers, “useful” here
probably means publishing as many papers in journals of a
high impact factor as possible to expand their CVs with a view
to professional or academic promotion. Although senior
analytical researchers may also aim at publishing (e.g., to gain
awards, increase their reputation, or obtain funding for new
research), they should additionally pursue objectives such as the
following to ensure that their research work is or can be usef ul (see
Figure 2):
Figure 2. Main goals to be fulfilled in making analytical R&D&T
useful.
(1) Producing reliable chemical, biochemical, and occasion-
ally also physico-chemical, information to facilitate well-
grounded, timely decisions.
(2) Systematically aiming at innovation in Analytical
Chemistry in the three steps of the R&D&T process in Science
& Technology, namely, Research (basic and applied), Develop-
ment, and Transfer of Knowledge and Technology.
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Perspective
(3) Engaging in all steps of the R−D−T sequence to
produce signals (primary data), results (information), and
knowledge (reports) as research outputs.
(4) Devising genuinely innovative tangible (e.g., new
instruments, reagents, sorbents) and intangible approaches
(e.g., strategies to address actual problems).
(5) Tackling new and previously unsolved analytical
problems to derive (bio)chemical information from natural
and artificial objects and systems.
(6) Working interdisciplinarily.
Unfortunately, some of the previous objectives are rarely
addressed in current research, not even if published in highly
reputed analytical journals. As noted earlier, most authors aim
at publishing as much as possible in high-impact journals in
order to further their careers. This situation clearly necessitates
a gradual but profound change. Interestingly, as early as 1993,
Lundell7 suggested that more time be devoted to improving,
innovating, in chemical analysis than to having the analyst work
in the dark following detailed protocols.
Such a worrying scenario is not exclusive to Analytical
Chemistry, however; rather, it is commonplace in Science &
Technology in general. The driving force for writing this paper
was a sound article by Ioannidis8 entitled “Why most clinical
research is not usef ul?” and published in 2016 where he
pinpoints the attributes of actually useful clinical research and
exposes the social and economic causes of deviations from the
true target, which is disease prevention and cure. Ioannidis’
paper and my long experience in the topic sparked a wish to
write about my personal feelings on the actual usefulness of
Analytical Science by completing its message and adapting it to
the present and foreseeable future of R&D&T in Analytical
Chemistry.
■
BASIC AND APPLIED ANALYTICAL RESEARCH
According to the Frascati and Oslo manuals,9,10 distinguishing
basic research from applied research is nearly pointless: there is
quality research and all other, whether basic or applied.
Basic research can be very useful as long as it is truly
pioneering and provides a solid platform for developing also
useful applied research. According to Braben,11 this type of
research involves a risk worth taking, one such as the risk
component of innovation in Figure 1. Basic research work
should rest on so-named “oriented basic research” (viz.,
research aimed at a useful long-term target) rather than on
“sky-blue research”.8 The latter is research conducted for no
innovative purpose but rather merely for publishing and
sometimes leads to “cloned” papers of no significance or
added value (e.g., papers reporting the results obtained in
“new” experiments performed under conditions differing a
mere 0.3 pH units or a couple of degrees centigrade) that are
submitted almost simultaneously to different journals without
reference to one another. This is an unethical practice leading
to no actual progress but unfortunately continuing to occur.
Basic and applied research in Analytical Chemistry should be
aimed at fulfilling the two major aims and objectives of this
scientific discipline. Figure 3 illustrates the types, stages, and
objectives of analytical chemical research in an integral
approach to R&D&T.2
The first type of R&D in Analytical Chemistry (Figure 3, 1)
is basic research (i.e., more R than D). This is the first stage and
is intended to increase the ability to extract (bio)chemical
information with a view to developing new analytical processes
or improving existing ones. Thus, basic analytical chemical
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Anal. Chem. 2017, 89, 11167−11172
Analytical Chemistry
Figure 3. Three ways of conducting basic and applied research in
Analytical Chemistry. For details, see text. Reproduced from ref 2 with
permission of Elsevier.
research involves developing new measuring instruments for
multidisciplinary use, new reagents and solvents for more
effective analytical processes (methods), and new chemometric
tools or new approaches to analytical problems. Basic research
ends with the obtainment of these tangible or intangible
“products”; also, obviously, it provides support for applied
research.
The second type of R&D in Analytical Chemistry (Figure 3,
2) is applied research, which involves more D than R and is
intended to produce quality (bio)chemical information and
knowledge by using analytical processes to extract useful
information from objects and systems. The primary aim of
applied analytical chemical research is to fulfill information
requirements with a view to solving analytical problems. Simple
applied research (Figure 3, 2) uses tools, processes, and
approaches deriving from basic research to obtain (bio)-
chemical information.
In some situations (Figure 3, 3), sequentially combined basic
and applied research is required. Such is the case, for example,
when the “products” of basic research are inadequate to solve
an analytical problem. This situation requires starting with
oriented basic research and following with appropriate applied
research.
■ DIAGNOSING THE SITUATION
Positive Advances in Analytical Chemistry. The author
has had the privilege of witnessing the impressive positive
evolution of Analytical Chemistry over the last 50 years. The
process has gone through three crucial inflection points,
namely, the inception of instrumental methods superseding
the classical methods of analysis of the 1950s, the increasing
role of computers in the analytical process, and the emergence
of some important realities including Analytical Nanoscience
and Nanotechnology in the early XXI century.
There follow selected major advances in Analytical
Chemistry from past to present. All should be credited to the
endeavors of committed colleagues throughout the world:
(i) from inorganic and organic analysis to bioanalysis;
(ii) from discriminating reagent-based and instrumental
chemistry to dealing with them jointly;
(iii) from single signals to multiplexed signals;
(iv) from discriminated information for an analyte to global
information about a group of analytes (e.g., total indices);
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Perspective
(v) from the classical (capital, basic, and productivity-related)
analytical properties12 to the summative property “reliability”,
which is easier to understand by clients requiring (bio)chemical
information;
(vi) from analytical processes involving some sample
treatment to reliable direct routine analyses in the framework
of vanguard−rearguard analytical strategies;13
(vii) from classical instruments to others based on new
principles;
(viii) from manual, complex, macro analyses to automated,
simplified, miniaturized analytical processes;
(ix) from conventional materials to the use of nanomaterials
as sorbents and sensors in the framework of Analytical
Nanoscience and Nanotechnology;14
(x) from macro and micro analyses to nanoworld and space
analyses;
(xi) from solving problems by using conventional informa-
tion to developing new strategies to address the problems
posed by society and industry;
(xii) from dealing with metrology and problem-solving in
isolation to operating with them jointly in so-named “quality
trade-offs”;15
(xiii) from delivering primary data to producing analytical
information and knowledge;16
(xiv) from Analytical Quality to Social Responsibility in
Analytical Chemistry;
(xv) from Analytical Chemistry operating in isolation to its
taking an active role in interdisciplinary studies and work.
(xvi) from unsustainable laboratories to green methods of
analysis.
Each analytical scientist may have their own list; a list whose
elements are not watertight compartments but rather share
some common interfaces.
Potentially Misfocused Approaches to Analytical
R&D&T. Although the current status of Analytical Chemistry
is quite acceptable, a need remains to reconsider the potential
threats to further progress in this scientific discipline. A more
accurate diagnosis of the situation can be obtained by
examining the internal and external driving forces of such
threats.
External Negative Driving Forces. With few exceptions,
these forces are common to R&D&T in Analytical Chemistry
and to Science & Technology in general. The most salient are
probably the following:
(1) Publishing at any rate rather than contributing genuinely
useful novelties to the advancement of Science & Technology.
As can be seen in Figure 4, the balance should be tipped against
the prioritization of routine publishing.
(2) A prevalence of personal and institutional interests over
those of Science & Technology. Unfortunately, individual and
institutional prestige continues to be largely measured in
quantitative terms (see item 3 below). Publishing nearly
identical papers (“clones”) merely to expand personal and
institutional CVs is akin to building a symphony from a very
limited number of chords.
(3) Using exclusively quantitative indicators such as numbers
of papers or citations, impact factors, or Hirsh indices to assess
the goodness of scientific and technological research rather
than answering revealing questions about their quality such as
“What is actually innovative?”, “What is the added value of the
paper relative to previous contributions, whether by the same
author or group or by others?”, “Is the paper a clone of a
previous one?”, “Does it report interdisciplinary work?”, or
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Analytical Chemistry
Figure 4. Unbalanced (A) and balanced (B) situations of the main
driving forces of R&D&T. A third situation not shown is also possible
when usefulness prevails over publication.
“What is its anticipated impact on existing basic or applied
research?”.
(4) A shortage of interdisciplinarity favored by an individual
approach to research instead of close cooperation with and/or
dependence on peers with diverging mentalities and interests.
Establishing productive liaisons among different areas of
knowledge requires overcoming the high activation energy of
starting work at the boundaries of different areas of knowledge.
(5) The systematic oblivion of “research reproducibility”, a
term accurately defined by Goodman et al.,17 despite its crucial
significance.
(6) As a result of the previous item, a lack of transparency in
published articles. Many experimental procedures are described
in a way that precludes reproduction by others. If authors wish
to protect the ingeniousness of their work they should apply for
patents rather than hide technical details of their procedures to
prevent others from replicating them.
(7) Disregarding current major trends in Science &
Technology in planning research work (e.g., by sticking to
macro analyses and manual work rather than exploiting
advances in automation and miniaturization).
(8) Scientific publishing continuing to be a highly engrossing
business. On June 27, 2017, Buranyi18 asked the following
question in the British newspaper The Guardian: “Is the
staggeringly prof itable business of scientif ic publishing bad for
science?” The answer can only be a resounding yes. Publishers
are exploiting the need of scientists to publish without
considering that their massive benefits are to a great extent
due to their “client’s” research work. Rather than charging for
online publication, they should make accepted papers freely
accessible by all scientists, which would additionally make
dubiously legal Web pages such as Sci-Hub redundant. One
illustrative example of the ceaseless growth of the scientific
publishing business is the inception of more than 40 new
journals containing the prefix “nano” in their names over the
past decade.
(9) The widespread lack of adherence to social responsibility
(SR) principles in Science & Technology. 19 SR is a
combination of key features including accountability, trans-
parency, ethics, law abidance, and respect of human rights,
which, together are intended to fulfill the needs and
expectations of the main stakeholders: citizens. In fact, our
fellow citizens should be the ultimate beneficiaries of scientific
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Perspective
and technological achievements; therefore, their interests
should prevail over those of scientists, research centers,
institutions, and publishers, however important they may be.
Internal Negative Driving Forces. “Internal” here refers to
the specific negative connotations of analytical R&D&T in
addition to the general ones described in the previous section.
The most salient driving forces of this type are as follows:
(1) Frequently ignoring the true aims (a high metrological
quality and problem-solving) and objectives [the obtainment of
more, better (bio)chemical information with less material, time,
effort, costs, and risks] of Analytical Chemistry, which seriously
hinders progress in analytical R&D&T.
(2) Analytical chemists accepting that their discipline plays a
secondary role in the chemical realm. This is partly the result of
refusing to lead tuition on the new generation of instruments
emerging in the late XX century. In many countries other than
the USA, mass spectrometry has traditionally “pertained” to
Organic Chemistry and X-ray spectrometry to Inorganic
Chemistry. Although the situation has changed markedly,
some chemists who have been mistaught what Analytical
Chemistry is and does continue to regard it as a second-class
discipline of Chemistry.
(3) Derived from the previous force, underestimating the
ability of analytical chemists to engage in interdisciplinary work.
To many, analytical chemists are simply high-level technicians
who analyze myriads of samples for primary data rather than
potential contributors to key discussions such as those arising in
the data−information−knowledge−decision-making process.
(4) A lack of genuine interest among analytical chemists in
the transfer of analytical knowledge and technology, the last
step in the R&D&T sequence and the ultimate proof of
whether published research is actually useful.
(5) Underestimating the actual significance of Applied
Analytical Chemistry relative to Basic Analytical Chemistry;
the latter is frequently considered to be the “output” of more
brilliant brains. This often leads to analytical researchers aiming
solely at publishing in highly reputed journals rather than at
solving real-life analytical problems.
(6) Scant production of reference materials (RMs) and
certified reference materials (CRMs). Commercially available
CRMs have been estimated to fulfill only 3−6% of current
needs for the overall validation of chemical measurement
processes, a task pertaining to Applied Analytical Chemistry.
The arsenal of analytical tools should therefore be expanded
with new RMs and CRMs, which are typically the “products” of
basic-oriented analytical research (see Figure 3).
(7) The fact that all instruments and sensors provide primary
data and thus require the involvement of no specialists but
rather what Lundell calls “workers in the dark”7 in routine
analyses.
(8) Disregarding the potential of Analytical Chemistry for
developing Quality Systems that can be “exported” from
analytical laboratories to other disciplines of Chemistry (e.g.,
batch-to-batch reproducibility in organic−inorganic synthetic
procedures).
(9) Failing to ensure social responsibility in Analytical
Chemistry20,21 as a natural expansion of classical analytical
quality systems.
(10) Misconceiving method validation. To many analytical
chemists, characterizing a candidate method by experimentally
determining its figures of merit is more than enough to validate
it when, in fact, they should also confirm that the method is fit
for its intended purpose by using CRMs, applying it to real
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Analytical Chemistry
samples in interlaboratory exercises, or using well-established,
statistically supported alternative reference methods for
comparison.
■ THERAPIES FOR A BETTER HEALTH OF
ANALYTICAL R&D&T
The negative driving forces described in the previous two
sections can be countered with effective therapies encouraging
analytical chemists to fight the ensuing “diseases” after they
have been accurately diagnosed.
The proposed therapies, summarized in Figure 5, are as
follows:
Figure 5. Selected therapies for improving the health of today’s and
tomorrow’s Analytical Chemistry as derived from internal diagnostics
(Analytical Chemistry realm) and external diagnostics (Science &
Technology realm).
(1) being proud of one’s discipline, its aims and its
objectives;
(2) being aware of the crucial importance of proper
education in its principles;
(3) harmonizing the basic and applied sides of analytical
research;
(4) recognizing the importance of transfer of analytical
knowledge and technology;
(5) developing new, better (e.g., simpler) quality systems;
(6) having scientists and publishers recognize the significance
of a wide array of RMs and CRMs to Analytical Chemistry as a
metrological discipline;
(7) validating new methods in terms of not only quantitative
but also qualitative indicators; and
(8) systematically practicing social responsibility to extend
the socio−economic projection of our discipline.
The misguided approaches to Science & Technology in
general can also be fought with specific therapies such as the
following:
(1) balancing research usefulness and dissemination-related
(publication) productivity;
(2) having the goals of Science & Technology prevail over
personal and institutional interests;
(3) deeply changing current assessment indicators for
scientific and technical merit, both individual and collective;
(4) ensuring reproducibility and transparency in reported
research;
(5) having publishers share part of their benefits with
scientists in order to promote better Science & Technology;
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Perspective
(6) fostering productive interdisciplinary activities; and
(7) unconditionally supporting social responsibility.
■ THE FUTURE: THERA(G)NOSIS
In Medicine, “theragnosis”, often abbreviated to “theranosis”, is
a smart on-time, in situ, in vivo combination of diagnoses and
therapies.22 Here, the term is used to refer to prevention
procedures intended to completely or at least partly suppress
external and internal negative driving forces while it is still
possible. The two components of thera(g)nosis in analytical
chemical research can be implemented in two different
sequences, namely,
(1) Therapy + diagnosis. This sequence comes into play
when, for example, a method is validated against qualitative and
quantitative indicators, and its usefulness is assessed in terms of
the body of research based on it that is published later on. Also,
this sequence applies when the outcome of a therapy intended
to raise interest in developing new RMs and CRMs is assessed
(diagnosed) in terms of the number of papers on the target
topic published in the previous years to fulfill the needs of
analytical chemists in this respect.
(2) Diagnosis + therapy. This is the more usual sequence. If
genuinely interdisciplinary work where Analytical Chemistry is
a well-regarded partner is judged (diagnosed) scant, then
having journal editors and funding agencies, among others,
promote interdisplinarity is the obvious therapy of choice.
■ FINAL REMARKS
Analytical Chemistry has by now consolidated as an essential
discipline of Chemistry thanks to the endeavors of committed
analytical chemists who have contributed truly useful
innovations for over half a century. This was recognized in
2015 in an enlightening article 2015 by Whitesides,23 a
renowned chemist of Harvard University, with phrases such
as “the strategic importance of chemical information”,
“Analytical chemistry is a much more important chemical
discipline than many believe”, or “one of the most crucial steps
starting new scientific and technical areas is the development of
innovative analytical techniques to support analysis”.
On the occasion of the celebration of 2011 as International
Year of Chemistry, I was asked by Talanta to write a paper
wondering whether a different approach to Analytical
Chemistry was possible.24 The answer was yes but only if
analytical chemists were willing to innovate and cast off
obsolete paradigms.
We analytical chemists should recognize the individual and
collective difficulties faced in overcoming the activation barrier
that leads to systematically improved R&D&T in Analytical
Chemistry. On the basis of my own experience, this requires
permanent stimulus and support (especially for young
analytical chemists) and also an awareness of its strategic
significance.
The future buzzwords in Analytical Chemistry should
coincide with the six major goals depicted in Figure 2.
■
AUTHOR INFORMATION
Corresponding Author
*E-mail qa1vacam@gmail.com.
Notes
The author is solely responsible for the opinions contained in
this article, a distillation of his experience of almost 50 years
intended to stimulate young analytical chemists. Any comments
DOI: 10.1021/acs.analchem.7b03935
Anal. Chem. 2017, 89, 11167−11172
Analytical Chemistry Perspective

from Analytical Chemistry readers are welcome at qa1vacam@

uco.es.
The author declares no competing financial interest.

■ ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The author dedicates this farewell article to all analytical
chemists truly committed to innovation in basic and applied
research for the sustained improvement of our scientific
discipline. I wish to express my deep gratitude to my teachers,
colleagues, almost all former students, and technical and
administrative staff who decisively contributed to my sustained,
growing engagement, commitment, and devotion to Analytical
Chemistry.

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Anal. Chem. 2017, 89, 11167−11172