Molecular activation analysis for chemical species studies

Molecular activation analysis (MAA) refers to an activation analysis method that is able to provide information on the chemical species of elements in systems of interest, though its exact definition has yet to be assigned. Its development is strongly stimulated by the urgent need to know the chemical species of elements, because knowledge of bulk contents or concentrations is often insufficient to judge biological, environmental or geochemical effects of elements. The features, methodology and limitations of MAA are outlined, as well as the up-to-date MAA progress in our laboratory. Received: 14 August 1998 / Revised: 30 November 1998 / Accepted: 1 December 1998