Attractive physical, chemical, and biological properties of the noble (precious) metals – ruthenium, rhodium, palladium, osmium, iridium and platinum (so‐called platinum group metals (PGMs)) and gold – result in their wide applications. The main demands for the metals are from autocatalysts; chemical, electrical, and electronic industries; and jewelry and investment. Medical applications of some noble metal compounds, in particular those exhibiting anticancer activity, are of great importance.
A large variety and complexity of the examined (geological, environmental, industrial, and biological) materials, great chemical similarities and low stability of the noble metal species in solutions, and wide concentration ranges (from sub‐ppb to >99.99%) to be determined make the accurate determination of the metals a difficult analytical problem. Identification and quantification, both of elemental and molecular forms of the metals, in the examined samples require methods capable of separation of the analytes from the interfering matrix components and their detection. The choice of a suitable sample preparation procedure and its successful coupling with the detection technique of required selectivity and sensitivity are fundamental factors limiting the quality of the results. Analytical methods applicable in the analysis of the noble metal samples are presented in this chapter.