Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS) was developed as a commercial analytical technique
in the early 1980’s and has since been applied to the determination of trace, minor and major elements in almost every analytical field. Strengths of the technique include:
• Wide elemental coverage - virtually all elements can be measured by ICP-MS, including alkali and alkaline earth elements, transition and other metals, metalloids, rare earth elements, most of the halogens and some of the non-metals
• Performance - high sensitivity and low background signals combine to give very low detection limits
(sub-ng/L – parts-per-trillion (ppt) in most cases)
• Fast analysis times – with a high speed scanning quadrupole analyzer, measurement of a full suite
of elements takes only about 4 minutes per sample
• Wide analytical working range – up to 9 orders in a single acquisition
• Isotopic information
• Excellent chromatographic detector
In the range of atomic spectrometry techniques used in analytical laboratories, ICP-MS holds a unique position by virtue of its speed, sensitivity, dynamic range and elemental coverage, see Table 1. It can be considered as a viable alternative to ICP-Optical Emission Spectroscopy (OES)
(also known as Atomic Emission Spectroscopy or AES) for fast measurement of higher concentration elements
(μg/L to mg/L or parts-per-billion to parts-per-million concentrations). At the same time, ICP-MS rivals or, in many cases, exceeds the detection capability of Graphite Furnace Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy (GFAAS) for the determination of trace and ultra-trace elements (ng/L
or ppt concentrations).
ICP-MS can measure a full suite of elements in a single multi-element acquisition, accepts almost any sample type and also provides isotopic information. One of the fastest growing areas of ICP-MS is in speciation measurement: the combination of chromatographic techniques with ICP-MS as a detector to determine the chemical form of elements in the sample. These capabilities help to explain the widespread acceptance of ICP-MS across all industry types, and confirm the status of ICP-MS as the premier technique for trace metals measurement.
Over the next few years, ICP-MS will continue to grow at the expense of other techniques listed in Table 1, as demands for more sensitive measurement with higher productivity continue to increase.
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