The State Key Laboratory of Analytical Chemistry for Life Sciences
Analytical chemistry is a measurement science that studies a material’s composition and structure and determines the chemical composition, content and distribution of the material in different states and during changing processes. It is a branch of chemical science.
In the 21st century, the development of life sciences, human health work and economic and social development all pose higher and higher demands on analytical chemistry. At the turn of this century, Nanjing University pioneered the interdisciplinary research on bio-analytical chemistry and promoted the establishment of the laboratory of analytical chemistry for life sciences. Analytical chemistry for life sciences is a new, interdisciplinary area of research that studies various components in a life system, their structural elements and their changes in the interaction process so as to develop new theorems, methods and techniques for examining bio-molecules in the biological process and to carry out qualitative and quantitative qualitative and quantitative monitoring of living substances in specific, sensitive and fast manners, thus identifying molecules and extracting bio-information.
The State Key Laboratory of Analytical Chemistry for Life Sciences is a national platform for basic research of analytical chemistry which relies on the analytical chemistry discipline of Nanjing University and incorporates the university’s relevant resources of life sciences and clinical research. Its history can be traced back to 1952 when the university was already known for its solid foundation of analytical chemistry. It was among the first in the country to be approved in 1981 to confer doctoral degrees and among the first to be given in 1987 the title of the national key disciplines. During this period of time, it made great contributions to the development of analytical chemistry in China. Since the 1990s, based on the solid foundation laid down by scientists of older generations like Gao Hong and under the leadership of Academician Chen Hongyuan, the laboratory has established the Institute of Analytical Science, readjusted the layout of disciplines, and strengthened personnel cultivation. With the support of the 985 and 211 Projects, the lab lost no time in integrating analytical chemistry, life sciences, clinical medicine and material sciences and creating a new field of analytical chemistry for life sciences. Since then, the lab has embarked on the road of rapid development.
