Preface

The 14th Asian Chemical Congress (14 ACC) was held in Bangkok, Thailand 5-8 September 2011 by the Chemical Society of Thailand (CST) under the patronage of Prof. Dr. Her Royal Highness Princess Chulabhorn. The congress was supported as a tradition hosted by the members of the Federation of Asian Chemical Societies (FACS) and sponsored by IUPAC. The congress was a unique and exciting forum for meeting the challenge put forth by the event's theme: "Contemporary chemistry for sustainability and economic sufficiency". The congress attracted more than 1800 scientists from 48 different countries. Two Nobel Laureate lectures, a Kavli Foundation lecture, 6 plenary lectures, and FACS Award lectures were delivered, and 183 invited papers and approximately 1000 contributed scientific papers were presented in 23 symposia, 45 concurrent sessions, and poster presentations.In order to meet the significance of the theme of the congress and to celebrate the International Year of Chemistry 2011, this issue of Pure and Applied Chemistry collects seven selected articles from invited lectures delivered at the congress to highlight "Sustainability and economic sufficiency: Novelty in green analytical chemistry". These articles are: "Pulsed chronopotentiometric membrane electrodes based on plasticized poly(vinyl chloride) with covalently bound ferrocene functionalities as solid contact transducer" (Eric Bakker); "Laboratory automation based on flow techniques" (Victor Cerda); "Chemiluminescence immunoassay for a nonionic surfactant using a compact disc-type microfluidic platform" (Toshihiko Imato); "Cauliflower polyaniline/multiwalled carbon nanotubes electrode and its applications to hydrogen peroxide and glucose detection" (Proespichaya Kanatharana); "More with less: Advances in flow and paper-based monitoring of nutrients in aquatic systems" (Ian D. McKelvie); "Computer-controlled flow chemical analysis (CC-FCA) and its application to environmental analytical chemistry" (Shoji Motomizu); and "Reagent-free analytical flow methods for the soft drink industry: Efforts for environmentally friendly chemical analysis" (Duangjai Nacapricha).Other general papers presented in the congress were published in the 14 ACC Proceedings.We certainly acknowledge the great contribution made to this congress by the Congress Chair, Prof. Supawan Tantayanont, as well as the local organizing and scientific committees. We also thank the different organizers and session chairs for the symposia and workshops, which were exhibited in a lively manner during this successful congress, and the contributors to this issue.The 15th ACC is scheduled to be held 19-23 August 2013 in Singapore.Supa Hannongbua and Kate GrudpanConference Editors