Trace analysis has never been more important than today, where the surveillance of environmental pollution requires the determination of different elements and other harmful substances at parts per billion levels in various types of samples. The trace analysis is important from the view point of basic to applied sciences. For example, measurement of cosmogenic radionuclides like 26Al, 10Be, 129I, down to 1 in 1015 ratio will provide information about the cosmic radiation patterns in our environment, rates of erosion and deposition, dating of marine sediments, petroleum, etc. The measurement of supernovae (SN) produced long lived radionuclides like 146Sm, 182Hf, etc., will be helpful to unravel the history of formation of earth and the galactic drama that occurred million years before present. Similarly, determination of trace elements is useful in a number of different fields including drinking water, wastewater, natural water systems/hydrogeology, geology, metallurgy, food sciences, etc.

Exploring the trace analysis for the benefit of mankind, it is equally essential to have a vivid idea about the various modern techniques of analysis. A large variety of modern analytical methods allow specific tailor-made control and analysis of different substrates. A thorough knowledge of different hyphenated techniques used for trace analysis, and their relevance in modern sciences is therefore required for the budding scientists throughout the world.