铈同位素丰度的精确测定研究

通过用高浓缩同位素１４２Ｃｅ和１４０Ｃｅ配制９种混合样品，精确测定质谱计的系统误差校正系数，来校正用该仪器测定的天然铈的同位素丰度比，从而建立了准确测定铈同位素丰度的质谱分析方法，用这种绝对质谱法测定的铈相对原子质量是１４０１１５７±００００８。该数值已于１９９５年为国际理论与应用化学联合会（ＩＵＰＡＣ）的原子量与同位素丰度委员会所采纳     

浓缩钼同位素的纯化新方法及质量分馏测定

基于三氧化钼易升华的特性,建立了一种纯化浓缩钼同位素试剂的新方法.采用天然丰度掺杂样品Synthetic-Mo对纯化过程中的氧化时间、样品加入量及真空蒸发温度等条件进行了优化.用高分辨等离子体质谱分析了样品中杂质的含量,计算得到纯化后95Mo和98Mo浓缩同位素试剂的纯度分别为99.992%和99.990%.通过多接收器等离子体质谱测定纯化前后样品中钼同位素的组成,δX/95Mo(X=92,94,96,97,98,100)值均在仪器测量精度(0.3‰)范围之内,未观察到明显的质量分馏现象.该方法能够满足校正质谱法对浓缩同位素试剂的要求,对建立高准确度的钼同位素丰度比测量方法具有重要意义.     

碰撞池-多接收电感耦合等离子体质谱测定硒同位素的质量偏移效应

通过改变雾化气流量、RF射频发生器功率、矩管位置和碰撞气流量等仪器参数,研究了碰撞池-多接收电感耦合等离子体质谱(Collision Cell-MC-ICP-MS)中的质量偏移效应。实验结果表明,雾化气流量、RF发生器功率和矩管位置等是质量偏移效应的主要来源,而碰撞气流量的影响很小。在此基础上,建立了MC-ICP-MS分析硒同位素丰度的最优化测量条件,同位素比R82/76的测量精度达到0.0043%。采用化学计量方法配制了两个系列硒同位素丰度校正样品,通过不同的同位素丰度比的质量偏移校正因子β和与其对应的同位素对的质量平均值成线性的关系,分析了样品GBW(E)080215和SRM3149中硒的同位素丰度组成。与样品SRM3149中82Se/76Se的比值相比,样品GBW(E)080215中的硒同位素分馏系数δ82/76为-4.78‰。     

同位素稀释电感耦合等离子体质谱(ID-ICP-MS)测定植物与人发标准物质中的铅

建立了同位素稀释电感耦合等离子体质谱(ID-ICP-MS)测定铅的方法.考察和讨论了仪器参数对同位素比值测定的影响,优化了仪器的数据采样参数.利用内标Tl对质量歧视、系统漂移进行了校正.讨论了同位素浓缩剂加入量对最终浓度测定值的不确定度的影响.将该方法应用于植物标准物质和人发标准物质的测定,结果令人满意.     

电感耦合等离子体质谱法测定水泥样品中的铅同位素比值

研究和讨论了用电感耦合等离子体质谱仪(ICP—MS)测定铅的同位素比值测定时，影响测试结果的准确度和精密度的主要因素及其优化过程。在优化后的仪器分析条件下，测定5μg/L的NIST SRM981自然丰度铅同位素标准溶液的各对铅同位素比值，获得的^207Pb／^206Pb分析精度可优于0．1％。在该条件下测定了14个不同的水泥粉样品中的铅同位素比值，结果显示：铅的同位素比值分析技术可以用来示踪环境监测样品的铅污染源。     

ICP-MS测定PM2.5中痕量重金属及铅同位素

建立了HNO3-H2O2湿法消解、电感耦合等离子体质谱(ICP-MS)同时测定PM2.5样品中痕量重金属Cr,Ni,Cu,As,Cd,Pb和Pb同位素的方法。通过内标校正克服了基体效应、物理效应和仪器的长短期漂移的干扰。在ICP-MS优化参数下,测定的痕量元素及Pb同位素的标准曲线相关系数均优于0.9997,5种痕量元素的方法检出限在0.01~0.07μg/L之间,4种Pb同位素的方法检出限在0.014~0.07μg/L之间。通过测定滤膜标准物质(GBW(E)080212)和Pb同位素标准物质(NIST981)考察了方法准确性,测定值均在标准值范围内。当Pb质量浓度大于10μg/L时,浓度对Pb同位素比值的测量影响不显著。运用该方法测得厦门市PM2.5中6种痕量重金属元素的RSD小于4.8%,Pb同位素RSD小于0.5%。     

钐同位素丰度的绝对测量

建立了钐同位素丰度高精度的质谱测量法。对样品形态选择、离子转换效率、离子传输效率和离子接收效率进行研究，消除了浓缩同位素测量时强峰拖尾对弱峰的干扰及同量异位素干扰。用已知化学纯度的^152Sm、^154Sm两种浓缩同位素，通过化学计量配制人工合成校正样品，测量质谱计的系统误差校正系数，对用该仪器测量的来自不同地域矿物和试剂样品中钐元素天然同位素的丰度比数据进行校正，准确求得钐同位素的丰度。     

电感耦合等离子体质谱法测定地球化学样品中镉

采用HF-HClO4-HNO3-H2SO4分解样品,王水提取,选用4个国家一级标准物质制备成标准系列校准,ICP-MS法直接测定地球化学样品中的Cd。选择103Rh为内标,确定了仪器的最佳分析条件,研究了Zr,Sn对Cd的干扰,选择114Cd作为测定同位素,采用数学公式校正了Sn对Cd的同质异位素干扰,方法检测限(3s)为6.3×10-3μg/g,RSD(n=12)为3.9%～6.6%。经国家一级标准物质验证,测定值与标准值吻合较好。该方法适用于地球化学样品中的微量Cd的测定。     

土壤铵态氮中氮稳定同位素比值测定前处理方法优化研究

土壤氮素在土壤养分供给和植物生长发育中起着重要作用。利用氮稳定同位素自然丰度或富集标记技术,开展土壤氮循环转化、化肥利用效率和生物有效性等方面的研究,涉及NH4+-N稳定同位素比值的精准测定。本研究在前人基础上,开发了一种快速高通量的铵态氮蒸馏分离方法,并使用次氯酸盐替代了次溴酸盐优化了铵态氮化学转化条件,将转化效率由原方法的25%左右,提高至60%以上。利用新建立的前处理方法结合气体预浓缩装置与稳定同位素质谱仪（PreCon-IRMS）联用系统,分析了不同浓度条件下自然丰度、15N富集和标记的NH4+-N标准溶液中的氮稳定同位素比值。结果表明,新的反应体系下,当铵态氮浓度为0.5 μmol /mL以上时,所有NH4+-N标准样品均能获得较理想的分析精度,其中自然丰度和15N富集参比溶液的NH4+-N的δ15N的精度可控制在0.5‰以内,而15N标记的标准溶液的15N atom%测试精度为0.001~0.006 atom%（CV在0.1~0.3%之间）。所有NH4+-N标准样品的15N测定值与参考值一致,无分馏现象发生。将该方法应用于两种不同土地类型的旱地和稻田土壤浸提液中NH4+-N稳定同位素丰度的测定,也可获得较好的重现性（CV<0.5%）,与原方法测定结果基本一致,且精度更优。优化后的前处理方法操作简单,耗时短,重复性好,适用于土壤溶液铵态氮15N丰度测定的快速、批量前处理。     

激光剥蚀电感耦合等离子体质谱法测定地质玻璃中铅同位素组成

将193nm准分子纳秒激光与四级杆电感耦合等离子体质谱联用,测量了国际参照物玻璃中Pb同位素丰度比。通过剥蚀NIST612,USGS和MPI-DING玻璃,探讨了利用激光剥蚀电感耦合等离子体质谱直接测定固体样品铅同位素比值的精密度及其适用范围。通过扣除Ar载气中204Hg对204Pb的同量异位素干扰,采用内标法和外标法校正LA-ICP-MS仪器的质量歧视效应,获得的206Pb/204Pb、207Pb/204Pb、208Pb/204Pb同位素比值测量的相对误差小于±1.2%,207Pb/206Pb、208Pb/206Pb同位素比值测定的相对误差小于±0.8%。对比结果表明,采用内标法校正的结果更接近真实值。测定的Pb同位素比值的精密度与样品中Pb含量密切相关,对Pb含量大于40μg/g的样品,同位素比值206Pb/204Pb、207Pb/204Pb、208Pb/204Pb的RSD在1.0%以内,207Pb/206Pb、208Pb/206Pb的RSD在0.5%以内。大气颗粒物样品中Pb含量很高,采用LA-ICP-MS测定Pb同位素比值,能够鉴别污染来源,满足示踪的要求。     

Precise determination of isotopic ratios for some biologically significant elements by inductively coupled plasma mass spectroscopy

Isotope ratios for copper, iron, lead, lithium, nickel and zinc were measured with an ELAN 5000 ICP-MS instrument. Except for lithium isotopes, ratio relative standard deviations (RSDs) of about 0.1% were achieved with measurement times of 10 min or less per sample on isotope pairs that differed by no more than a factor of 10 in abundance. It was necessary to accumulate several million counts to reduce statistical counting errors, to correct for the dead time in the counting circuitry, and to compensate for a slow drift of apparent ratios with time. Drift compensation was achieved by using a third isotope of the test element, by adding two internal standard elements with isotopes bracketing the mass range of interest, or by frequent recalibration with a standard of known abundances. Attempts to compensate for drift in lithium isotope ratios were not successful and typical RSDs for ⁶Li/⁷Li remained around 0.5%. Copper and zinc ratios were measured in pig feces with ratio precision and drift behavior essentially identical to that seen for synthetic solutions.     

Determination of Mercury in Urine and Seawater by Flow Injection Vapor Generation Isotope Dilution Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry

A simple and inexpensive laboratory-built vapor generator was used with inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) for the determination of mercury in urine and seawater samples. The applications of vapor generation ICP-MS alleviated the non-spectroscopic interferences and the sensitivity problem of mercury determination encountered when the conventional pneumatic nebulizer was used for sample introduction. The concentration of mercury was determined by isotope dilution method. The isotope ratio of mercury was calculated from the peak areas of each injection peak. The repeatability of the peak areas and isotope ratio determinations of seven consecutive injections of 1 ng mL^?1 Hg solution were 2.3% and 2.2%, respectively. This method has a detection limit of 0.07 ng mL^?1 for mercury. This method was applied to determine mercury in a CASS-3 nearshore seawater reference sample, NASS-4 open ocean seawater reference sample, NIST SRM 2670 freeze-dried urine reference sample and several urine and seawater samples collected from National Sun Yat-Sen University. The results for the reference samples agreed satisfactorily with the reference values. Results for other samples analyzed by the isotope dilution method and the method of standard additions agreed satisfactorily. Precision was better than 10% for most of the determinations.     

Determination of phenylalanine isotope ratio enrichment by liquid chromatography/time- of-flight mass spectrometry

The application of time-of-flight mass spectrometry to isotope ratio measurements has been limited by the relatively low dynamic range of the time-to-digital converter detectors available on commercial LC/ToF-MS systems. Here we report the measurement of phenylalanine isotope ratio enrichment by using a new LC/ToF-MS system with wide dynamic range. Underivatized phenylalanine was injected onto a C18 column directly with 0.1% formic acid/acetonitrile as the mobile phase. The optimal instrument parameters for the time-of-flight mass spectrometer were determined by tuning the instrument with a phenylalanine standard. The accuracy of the isotope enrichment measurement was determined by the injection of standard solutions with known isotope ratios ranging from 0.02% to 9.2%. A plot of the results against the theoretical values gave a linear curve with R2 of 0.9999. The coefficient of variation for the isotope ratio measurement was below 2%. The method is simple, rapid, and accurate and presents an attractive alternative to traditional GC/MS applications.     

Determination of uranium in urine – measurement of isotope ratios and quantification by use of inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry

For analysis of uranium in urine determination of the isotope ratio and quantification were investigated by high-resolution inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (HR ICP-MS). The instrument used (ThermoFinniganMAT ELEMENT2) is a single-collector MS and, therefore, a stable sample-introduction system was chosen. The methodical set-up was optimized to achieve the best precision for both the isotope ratio and the total uranium concentration in the urine matrix.Three spiked urine samples from an European interlaboratory comparison were analyzed to determine the (235)U/(238)U isotope ratio. The ratio was found to be in the range 0.002116 to 0.007222, the latter being the natural uranium isotope ratio. The first ratio indicates the abundance of depleted uranium.The effect of storage conditions and the stability for the matrix urine were investigated by using "real-life" urine samples from unexposed persons in the Netherlands. For samples stored under refrigeration and acidified the results (range 0.8 to 5.3 ng L(-1) U) were in the normal fluctuation range whereas a decrease in uranium concentration was observed for samples stored at room temperature without acidification.     

Quantitative analysis of iron-containing protein myoglobin in different foodstuffs by liquid chromatography coupled to high-resolution inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry

Quantitative determination was made of the iron-containing protein myoglobin in a range of different foods, including meat, processed meat, fish, and shellfish, by liquid chromatography coupled to a double-focusing sector field inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). The concentration of myoglobin determined in the samples ranged from 0 to 6.5 mg/kg, and the analytical precision (coefficient of variation) for the analysis of 8 replicate raw steak extracts was 2.1%. By using a double-focusing ICP-MS instrument, direct on-line detection of the most abundant iron isotope 56Fe was possible without interference from a major polyatomic interference (40Ar16O). Separation of myoglobin from other iron-containing compounds was facilitated by use of a gel filtration column (TSK Gel G2000SW) and Tris buffer (pH 7.2). The chromatographic column was coupled directly to the nebulizer of the ICP-MS instrument by a short piece of PEEK tubing. To ensure sufficient quality control throughout the study, a raw beefsteak sample was developed as an in-house reference material. The concentration of the heme-iron-containing protein myoglobin in this sample was determined by the developed method and independently by a conventional spectrophotometric method. The agreement between the 2 analytical techniques was very good. The detection limit (3 times the signal/noise ratio for a blank) of the reported method for myoglobin was 0.85 ng Fe/L.     

Comparing the precision of selenium isotope ratio measurements using collision cell and sector field inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry

The performance of two different types of inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) instruments for resolving spectral overlaps on Se isotopes was compared by means of selenium isotopic ratio measurements. Examined were a quadrupole-based, hexapole collisions cell CC-ICP-MS and a double-focusing sector field SF-ICP-MS. Due to the importance of precise and accurate isotope ratio determination in environmental, clinical and nutritional studies, a thorough investigation of the critical instrumental parameters of each technique was performed. A hydride generation system was coupled with SF-ICP-MS to maintain high signal-to-noise ratios (S/N) at high mass resolution. However, 80Se+ was not completely separated from the argon dimer (40)Ar2+ at m/z=80, even in high-resolution mode. The same hydride generation system was coupled to a collision cell instrument and it was found that argon dimers are significantly reduced using a mixture of H2 and He gas with the cell. A lower mass bias of 2.5% per amu was determined for measured Se isotopes using the SF-ICP-MS instrument compared 3.6% observed for the CC-ICP-MS instrument. Under optimized conditions, the precision for Se isotope ratio measurements of both instruments was evaluated and compared measuring NIST-3149 Se standard solution. On average, the uncertainty determined by repeated measurements over the span of three individual measuring sessions in a period of 3 weeks ranged from 0.06% to 0.15% and 0.09% to 0.30% R.S.D. for the various isotope ratios using the CC-ICP-MS and SF-ICP-MS instrument, respectively. The detection limits (3) for total Se were determined by measuring 82Se and found to be 1.7 and 4.0 ng L(-1) for the CC-ICP-MS and SF-ICP-MS, respectively.     

Identification of ground water contaminations by landfills using precise boron isotope ratio measurements with negative thermal ionization mass spectrometry

 Precise boron isotope ratio measurements with negative thermal ionization mass spectrometry were used for the identification of ground water contaminations by leakages of landfills. BO^- ₂thermal ions were produced to determine the ¹¹B/¹⁰B isotope ratio, which was expressed as δ¹¹B value in ‰ normalized to the standard reference material NIST SRM 951. For example, household waste influences the boron isotope ratio by specific components such as washing powder. In the case of one investigated landfill low δ¹¹B values correlate well with high boron concentrations in contaminated seepage water samples and vice versa for uncontaminated ground water samples. Possible boron contributions of rainwater were taken into account, determining a boron content of 2.3 μg/L and a δ¹¹B value of 13.1‰ for a representative sample. Such low boron concentrations were determined by isotope dilution mass spectrometry (detection limit 0.3 μg/L) whereas higher contents were also analyzed by a spectrophotometric method. However, different sources of contamination could only be identified by the isotope ratio and not by the concentration of boron. Received: 9 December 1996/Accepted: 18 February 1997     

The use of sector field ICP-mass spectrometry for Rb-Sr geochronological dating

Rb-Sr dating, one of the most important tools in geochronology, requires determination of the Rb/Sr concentration ratios and the 87Sr/86Sr isotope ratios in co-genetic minerals or rocks and is traditionally performed by thermal ionization mass spectrometry (TIMS). In this work we investigated whether sector field inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS), which is characterized by a high sample throughput and straight-forward sample introduction, could be used as an alternative to TIMS. To avoid spectral overlap of the ion signals of the isobaric nuclides 87Sr and 87Rb, Sr was separated from Rb by cation-exchange chromatography. A mathematical correction was applied to take into account the small amount of Rb that can be present in the Sr fraction. The isotope ratio accuracy and precision attainable with ICP-MS were evaluated by analysis of several reference materials from the US Geological Survey. The results of this evaluation show that excellent accuracy could be achieved; the internal precision (repeatability) of the isotope ratio (expressed as the relative standard deviation for 10 successive 1-min measurements) was 0.04-0.12%. An attempt was made to calculate the total or combined uncertainty on the isotope ratio results, by also taking into account other possible error sources (corrections for mass discrimination, detector dead time, blank signal and Rb fraction). Finally, the same procedure was used for dating two rock formations that were 2,500 Ma and 350 Ma old, according to age determinations previously performed by the Rb-Sr laboratory of the University of München (Germany) using TIMS. The ICP-MS results (2,520 +/- 150 Ma and 379 +/- 48 Ma) obtained for these formations compare well with the corresponding TIMS data (2,509 +/- 120 Ma and 357 +/- 25 Ma).     

The determination of lead in blood using isotope dilution inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry

Isotope dilution inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ID-ICP-MS) was applied to the certification of Pb in four levels of NIST blood SRM, 955a. This standard reference material (SRM) represents a significant improvement over the previous blood reference material and will greatly aid method development. The lowest level, 47.76 ng/g Pb was determined with analysis uncertainty (95% CI, ID-ICP-MS uncertainties) of less than 1% and the highest level, 517.9 ng/g Pb to 0.3%. Uncertainty in the lowest level was due to sample inhomogeneity and variability in the analytical blank as the RSD on ratio measurements was typically better than 0.2%. Properly applied isotope dilution coupled with careful isotope ratio measurements on the ICP-MS offers precision and accuracy for blood Pb analyses beyond what is currently obtainable with routine methods.     

Development of an on-line isotope dilution laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) method for determination of boron in silicon wafers

A method has been developed based on an on-line isotope dilution technique couple with laser ablation/inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS), for the determination of boron in p-type silicon wafers. The laser-ablated sample aerosol was mixed on-line with an enriched boron aerosol supplied continuously using a conventional nebulization system. Upon mixing the two aerosol streams, the isotope ratio of boron changed rapidly and was then recorded by the ICP-MS system for subsequent quantification based on the isotope dilution principle. As an on-line solid analysis method, this system accurately quantifies boron concentrations in silicon wafers without the need for an internal or external solid reference standard material. Using this on-line isotope dilution technique, the limit of detection for boron in silicon wafers is 2.8 × 10¹⁵ atoms cm⁻³. The analytical results obtained using this on-line methodology agree well with those obtained using wet chemical digestion methods for the analysis of p-type silicon wafers containing boron concentrations ranging from 1.0 × 10¹⁶ to 9.6 × 10¹⁸ atoms cm⁻³.