Dilución

Dilución refers to the process of reducing the concentration of a solute in a solution, usually by mixing it with a solvent. This is typically achieved by adding more solvent, which increases the total volume of the solution and therefore decreases the amount of solute per unit volume. The extent of dilution is often expressed as a dilution factor, which is the ratio of the final volume to the initial volume, or the ratio of the initial concentration to the final concentration. For example, a 1:10 dilution means that the final solution is 10 times less concentrated than the original solution.

Dilution is a fundamental technique used in many scientific fields, including chemistry, biology, and medicine. It is employed for various purposes, such as preparing solutions of specific concentrations, purifying substances, or making dangerous chemicals safer to handle. In analytical chemistry, serial dilutions are often performed to create a series of solutions with decreasing concentrations for calibration curves or to determine the concentration of an unknown sample. In microbiology, dilution is used to reduce the number of microorganisms in a sample to a countable level, which is crucial for determining bacterial or viral load. In medicine, it is used in drug administration and diagnostic testing. Understanding the principles of dilution is essential for accurate and reliable experimental results and practical applications.