Inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS)
The Varian ICP-MS
Instrument: Varian ICP-MS
How it works
- An inductively coupled plasma (ICP) is used to atomise and ionise the sample.
- A mass spectrometer is used to separate and detect ions by their mass-to-charge (M/Z) ratio.
It is possible to obtain extremely high sensitivity and very low background.
The detector can achieve linear performance from parts per trillion or lower, up to hundreds of parts per million in solution. The excellent sensitivity of the instrument means that analysis of rare earth elements can be particularly good.
Applications
This technique is routinely used to analyse trace and ultra-trace levels of most metals and some non-metals in:
- digests of rocks, minerals and organic materials
- waters
Elements routinely determined by ICP-MS:
Li, Be, Sc, V, Cr, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn, Ga, Rb, Y, Zr, Nb, Mo, Cd, Sn, Sb, Cs, Ba, rare earth elements, Hf, Ta, W, Re, Tl, Pb, Th, U
Examples:
- chemical analysis of meteorites and lunar rocks
- high-precision determination of ultra-trace levels of rare earth elements in a wide range of rocks, minerals and natural waters
- determination of rare earth and other trace elements in peat samples as tracers of climate change
- biomonitoring using rare earth and other trace elements in lichens
- detection of ultra-trace levels of metals using diffusive gradients in thin films (DGT)
- detection of titanium and silver in experimental solutions
- study of elemental tracers in biological samples - gadolinium in cell lysates, for example
Contact details
For further information or to discuss your analytical requirements contact:
Dr Stanislav Strekopytov
Tel: +44 (0)20 7942 5498
Fax: +44 (0)20 7942 5811
Email