《icp-ms thirty minute guide》.pdf

T e c h n i c a l n o T e ICP-Mass Spectrometry The 30-Minute Guide to ICP-MS A Worthy Member of the Inorganic Analysis Team For nearly 30 years, inductively coupled plasma–mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) has been gaining favor with laboratories around the world as the instrument of choice for performing trace metal analysis. While atomic absorption (AA) and inductively coupled plasma-optical emission (ICP-OES) systems dominate the inorganic analysis landscape, ICP-MS continues to make inroads into laboratories that are requiring the lowest detection limits and the greatest level of productivity. According to recent data provided by the Joint ALSSA-JAIMA-Eurom II Global Laboratory Analytical Instruments Booking Report, over 15% of all new instruments purchased for trace metal analysis are ICP-MS instruments. The primary reasons for the growing popularity of ICP-MS can be summarized in a few points: • Instrument detection limits are at or below the single part per trillion (ppt) level for much of the periodic table • Analytical working range is nine orders of magnitude • Productivity is unsurpassed by any other technique • Isotopic analysis can be achieved readily Figure 1. Elements analyzed by ICP-MS (in color). What can be measured with an ICP-MS? graph for each element. The bars depict the number and The ICP-MS instrument measures most of the elements in relative abundance of the natural isotopes for that element, the periodic table. The elements shown in color in Figure 1 which is sometimes referred to as the isotopic fingerprint can be analyzed by ICP-MS with detection limitsa at or below of the element. If you noticed, earlier in this paragraph, the pptb range. Elements that are in white are