European analytical column no. 39

The title Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry (ABC) represents a trend, which may be observed in several important analytical chemistry journals. The first thing to clarify should be an approximate definition of bioanalytical chemistry. This is far from easy because the term has been used for a variety of fields. The uncertainty about the definition of bioanalytical chemistry is reflected in the social aspects of this science. It appears to be very fragmented and geographically unevenly distributed. When browsing the authors' affiliations in the bioanalytical papers published in analytical journals, one does rarely find the familiarly sounding names of departments and industries which have been strongholds of analytical chemistry. There are naturally many authors coming from institutions devoted to biology and biochemistry. When underlining the importance of bringing closer analytical chemists and biochemists one should not forget that bioanalysis is not restricted to these two communities.