激光剥蚀电感耦合等离子体质谱新进展

简单介绍了激光剥蚀电感耦合等离子体质谱(LA-ICP-MS)的基本原理及装置。分别对LA-ICP-MS在飞秒激光器、紫外激光器、固液气溶胶混合进样、集合式小样品标样、原位统计分布技术上的技术新进展进行了详细的评述。最后对LA-ICP-MS在元素含量分析与空间分布分析中所占的地位及其应用前景进行了展望。     

激光剥蚀电感耦合等离子体质谱微区分析新进展

从仪器、基础研究诸方面评述近年来LA-ICP-MS微区分析进展,重点介绍了与ICP-MS联用的激光技术发展、校正方法、分馏效应、剥蚀颗粒分布研究及仪器装置与实验技术与改进,对LA-ICP-MS技术的应用作了回顾与展望。     

激光剥蚀串联电感耦合等离子体质谱在环境分析中的应用进展

激光剥蚀串联电感耦合等离子体质谱法(LA-ICP-MS)是一种功能强大的化学元素检测方法,它具有样品前处理简单、多元素同时测定、高通量、高灵敏度、宽线性范围以及原位分析等优点.同时,激光剥蚀可以与多接收器电感耦合等离子体质谱仪(MC-ICP-MS)串联用于稳定同位素组成测定,不仅避免了繁琐的样品前处理,同时还可应用于固...     

激光剥蚀-电感耦合等离子体质谱实现黄铁矿中多元素原位成像

采用激光剥蚀-电感耦合等离子体质谱( LA-ICP-MS)建立了单粒黄铁矿的多元素原位成像方法。在1mm×1mm的扫描区域内,获得有效计数点信息约5万个,总分析时间仅为1.5h。结果表明,此粒黄铁矿表面Fe、S元素的信号强度分布均匀,Fe/S比值数据集中,相对标准偏差仅为11.6%,这表明黄铁矿均质性较好,也表明本分析方法的稳定性较高。相对于围岩,黄铁矿表面的微量元素表现出的富集或亏损特征,可能与黄铁矿形成时的氧化还原环境和后期的次生改造作用有关。本方法将有助于LA-ICP-MS在单颗粒矿物分析中的推广应用,可为古环境、烃源岩和流体成藏等研究提供更直接、更准确的可视化实验数据。     

激光剥蚀-电感耦合等离子体质谱分析中激光剥蚀池载气对信号响应影响的研究

该文以玻璃标准参考物质NIST SRM 612为样本,选择轻、中、重质量元素Li(7)、Cu(63)、Y(89)、Cs(140)、Ru(175)、Th(232)、U(238)为研究对象,探讨了氩气和氦气分别作为激光剥蚀-电感耦合等离子体质谱(LA-ICP-MS)中剥蚀池载气时对质谱分析信号的影响。结果显示:当激光剥蚀池载气为氩气时,载气流量为0.80 L/min,补偿气流量为0.70 L/min或者补偿气流量为0.85 L/min,载气流量为0.70L/min时获得最佳分析信号,信号值稳定(RSD为4%),氧化物离子干扰值小(UO/U为0.27%)。当激光剥蚀池载气为氦气时,补偿气氩气流量为0.95 L/min,载气氦气流量为0.95 L/min时获得最佳的信号强度值,且信号值稳定(RSD为4%,UO/U为0.32%)。对比发现,氦气作为激光剥蚀池载气时质谱分析信号强度明显高于氩气作为载气时的最佳分析信号强度值,各元素的信号强度值平均增强3倍,且背景值低。因此采用氦气作为激光剥蚀池载气,可显著提高分析灵敏度。     

基于激光剥蚀-电感耦合等离子体质谱技术的生物元素成像分析

生物体内的微量元素具有十分重要的生物功能,也与许多疾病密切相关。现代生物医学的研究亟需能在组织、细胞等不同水平上原位分析生物样品中微量元素的分析方法。本研究建立了激光剥蚀-电感耦合等离子体质谱( LA-ICP-MS)原位分析生物样品的方法。采用线扫描模式和较小的激光输出能量(﹤1 J/cm2),得到了鼠脑切片和金纳米颗粒暴露后单细胞的金属元素成像图。 LA-ICP-MS具有空间分辨率高、检出限好、运行成本较低等优势,有望在生物医学研究中得到更广泛的应用,发挥更重要的作用。     

激光剥蚀-电感耦合等离子体质谱定量铬方法研究

建立了基体匹配外标法-激光剥蚀电感耦合等离子体质谱(LA-ICP-MS)定量分析凝胶和细胞中铬含量的方法.对标准品分析的相对标准偏差小于16％(n=300),LA-ICP-MS标准曲线相关系数R2=0.9805,方法的检出限为2.22μg/g.以MCF-7细胞作为体外细胞模型,经含铬培养基孵育后,用变性和非变性两种聚丙...     

激光剥蚀电感耦合等离子体质谱法测定碳化硅器件中杂质元素

采用激光剥蚀电感耦合等离子体质谱法(LA-ICP-MS),以NIST玻璃标准物质制作校准曲线,29Si为内标,相对灵敏度因子(RSF)校准标样和样品间的基体效应,对碳化硅陶瓷器件中9种痕量元素(B,Ti,Cr,Mn,Fe和Ni等)进行定量测定。选择线性扫描方式,激光剥蚀孔径为150μm,氦气和氩气流量为0.7 L/min时,信号稳定性和灵敏度最佳。经内标校准后,各元素标准曲线的线性有较大改善,线性相关系数为0.9981~0.9999。以建立的方法对碳化硅标准参考物质(BAM-S003)中的痕量元素进行测定,并与标准参考值进行对比,结果一致,证实了LA-ICP-MS方法应用于碳化硅样品检测的准确性和有效性。采用本方法定量测定碳化硅器件中痕量元素,结果与辉光放电质谱法(GD-MS)测定的结果比较一致。元素B,Ti,Cr,Mn,Fe,Ni,Cu,Sr和La的检出限为0.004~0.08 mg/kg,相对标准偏差(RSD)小于5%。     

标准加入法在激光剥蚀电感耦合等离子体质谱测定粉末样品中的应用

采用固体混合制样方法研究了标准加入法在激光剥蚀电感耦合等离子体质谱(LA-ICP-MS)测定粉末样品中的应用.以汽车尾气催化剂中贵金属元素为研究对象,选择具有2,4-二巯基-1,3,5-三嗪官能团的硅胶(DMT)定量吸附不同含量的贵金属元素,与汽车尾气催化剂混合均匀后,制备成薄片,使用LA-ICP-MS方法测定各元素强...     

Double-pulse laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry

This paper describes the use of double-pulse laser ablation to improve ICP-MS internal (temporal relative standard deviation, %TRSD) and external (%RSD) precision. The first laser pulse is used to ablate a large quantity of mass from the sample surface. The second pulse is applied with a variable time delay after the first pulse to break the ablated mass into a finer aerosol, which is more readily transported to and digested in the ICP-MS. A factor of two improvement in %TRSD and factor of five in %RSD are demonstrated.     

Applications of inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry and laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry in materials science

Inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) and laser ablation ICP-MS (LA-ICP-MS) have been applied as the most important inorganic mass spectrometric techniques having multielemental capability for the characterization of solid samples in materials science. ICP-MS is used for the sensitive determination of trace and ultratrace elements in digested solutions of solid samples or of process chemicals (ultrapure water, acids and organic solutions) for the semiconductor industry with detection limits down to sub-picogram per liter levels. Whereas ICP-MS on solid samples (e.g. high-purity ceramics) sometimes requires time-consuming sample preparation for its application in materials science, and the risk of contamination is a serious drawback, a fast, direct determination of trace elements in solid materials without any sample preparation by LA-ICP-MS is possible. The detection limits for the direct analysis of solid samples by LA-ICP-MS have been determined for many elements down to the nanogram per gram range. A deterioration of detection limits was observed for elements where interferences with polyatomic ions occur. The inherent interference problem can often be solved by applying a double-focusing sector field mass spectrometer at higher mass resolution or by collision-induced reactions of polyatomic ions with a collision gas using an ICP-MS fitted with collision cell. The main problem of LA-ICP-MS is quantification if no suitable standard reference materials with a similar matrix composition are available. The calibration problem in LA-ICP-MS can be solved using on-line solution-based calibration, and different procedures, such as external calibration and standard addition, have been discussed with respect to their application in materials science. The application of isotope dilution in solution-based calibration for trace metal determination in small amounts of noble metals has been developed as a new calibration strategy. This review discusses new analytical developments and possible applications of ICP-MS and LA-ICP-MS for the quantitative determination of trace elements and in surface analysis for materials science.     

Determination of trace elements in steel by laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry.

A rapid quantitative analysis of the trace elements in steel by laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry is described. The conditions for laser ablation and normalization methods to improve the analytical precision are given. The optimum conditions for laser ablation were achieved when the ion yield was a maximum at the focus position in the fixed Q pulse mode, and above the focus position in the Q-switched pulse mode. It was found that the fixed Q pulse mode was most suitable for the determination of trace metal elements in steel, and that the Q-switched pulse mode was most suitable for both non-metallic elements and elements with a high boiling-point. In order to improve the analytical precision for those elements with a strong background intensity, normalization methods with both the matrix ion, 57Fe+, and 38Ar+ are proposed.     

Imaging mass spectrometry in biological tissues by laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry

Of all the inorganic mass spectrometric techniques, laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) plays a key role as a powerful and sensitive microanalytical technique enabling multi- element trace analysis and isotope ratio measurements at trace and ultratrace level. LA-ICP-MS was used to produce images of detailed regionally-specific element distribution in 20 microm thin sections of different parts of the human brain. The quantitative determination of copper, zinc, lead and uranium distribution in thin slices of human brain samples was performed using matrix-matched laboratory standards via external calibration procedures. Imaging mass spectrometry provides new information on the spatially inhomogeneous element distribution in thin sections of human tissues, for example, of different brain regions (the insular region) or brain tumor tissues. The detection limits obtained for Cu, Zn, Pb and U were in the ng g(-1) range. Possible strategies of LA-ICP-MS in brain research and life sciences include the elemental imaging of thin slices of brain tissue or applications in proteome analysis by combination with matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization MS to study phospho- and metal- containing proteins will be discussed.     

Elemental fractionation in laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry

The major challenge to the use of laser ablation sample introduction, combined with inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry, is the problem of calibration. In the geological analysis of minerals, calibration is complicated by the extraordinarily wide variety of sample matrices which may be encountered. While there is a lack of mineral standards with well characterized concentrations near 1 g/g, the NIST glass reference materials (SRM 610–617) have been demonstrated to be very useful for the analysis of a wide variety of lithophile elements in silicate samples. An internal reference element, for which the concentration is known in the sample, has been widely used to make corrections for the multiplicative effects of volume (or weight) of the sample ablated, instrument drift, and matrix effects. This procedure works extremely well where elements being determined and the internal reference element being used share similar ablation behaviours; i.e., they do not fractionate progressively during the ablation and transport process. In this study, it is demonstrated that, in terms of ablation behaviour, elements fall into several distinct clusters and that the elements within these clusters correlate well with each other during a period of ablation. Thus, elements within a cluster can be determined using an internal reference element from within the same cluster. While a combination of periodic varying properties typifies the clusters, the geochemical classification of elements into lithophile (silicate loving), and chalcophile (sulphide loving) appears to offer the best characterization of the major groups.     

Elemental fractionation in laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry

The major challenge to the use of laser ablation sample introduction, combined with inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry, is the problem of calibration. In the geological analysis of minerals, calibration is complicated by the extraordinarily wide variety of sample matrices which may be encountered. While there is a lack of mineral standards with well characterized concentrations near 1 microg/g, the NIST glass reference materials (SRM 610-617) have been demonstrated to be very useful for the analysis of a wide variety of lithophile elements in silicate samples. An internal reference element, for which the concentration is known in the sample, has been widely used to make corrections for the multiplicative effects of volume (or weight) of the sample ablated, instrument drift, and matrix effects. This procedure works extremely well where elements being determined and the internal reference element being used share similar ablation behaviours; i.e., they do not fractionate progressively during the ablation and transport process. In this study, it is demonstrated that, in terms of ablation behaviour, elements fall into several distinct clusters and that the elements within these clusters correlate well with each other during a period of ablation. Thus, elements within a cluster can be determined using an internal reference element from within the same cluster. While a combination of periodic varying properties typifies the clusters, the geochemical classification of elements into lithophile (silicate loving), and chalcophile (sulphide loving) appears to offer the best characterization of the major groups.     

Analyte response in laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry

The dependence of analyte sensitivity and vaporization efficiency on the operating parameters of an inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometer (ICPMS) was investigated for a wide range of elements in aerosols, produced by laser ablation of silicate glass. The ion signals were recorded for different carrier gas flow rates at different plasma power for two different laser ablation systems and carrier gases. Differences in atomization efficiency and analyte sensitivity are significant for the two gases and the particle size distribution of the aerosol. Vaporization of the aerosol is enhanced when helium is used, which is attributed to a better energy-transfer from the plasma to the central channel of the ICP and a higher diffusion rate of the vaporized material. This minimizes elemental fractionation caused by sequential evaporation and reduces diffusion losses in the ICP. The sensitivity change with carrier gas flow variation is dependent on m/z of the analyte ion and the chemical properties of the element. Elements with high vaporization temperatures reach a maximum at lower gas flow rates than easily vaporized elements. The sensitivity change is furthermore dependent on m/z of the analyte ion, due to the mass dependence of the ion kinetic energies. The mass response curve of the ICPMS is thus not only a result of space charge effects in the ion optics but is also affected by radial diffusion of analyte ions and the mismatch between their kinetic energy after expansion in the vacuum interface and the ion optic settings.     

Low pressure laser ablation coupled to inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry

The particle size distribution in laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry is known to be a critical parameter for complete vaporization of particles. Any strategy to reduce the particle size distribution of laser generated aerosols has the potential to increase the ion signal intensity and to reduce fractionation effects. Due to the fact that vapor generation, nucleation, condensation, and agglomeration take place within an extremely short period of time, ablation under atmospheric pressure might not allow influencing these processes while under reduced pressure condition the cooling of the aerosol and therefore the condensation is expected to be slower. In this study, a low pressure laser ablation cell for the generation of laser aerosols was coupled to an ICP-MS. In contrast to the previously developed trapped ablation mode, the newly designed cell allows the adjustment of the pressure in the ablation cell between 20 and 1400 mbar prior to the ablation.Ablation experiments carried out using this configuration showed a dependence of the aerosol properties (size distribution and particle structure) on the ablation cell pressure. The intensity ratio U/Th measured as a figure of merit for complete vaporization within the ICP indicated a change in the aerosol structure at approximately 500 mbar toward smaller particle size. A significant difference between low pressure and at ambient pressure ablated aerosol was observed. The intensity ratios (U/Th) of the ablated sample moves closer to the bulk composition at lower pressures at the expense of sensitivity. Therefore the decrease in the ICP-MS signal intensity in the low pressure cell can be attributed to vapor deposition within the ablation cell walls.Moreover, scanning electron microscope images of aerosols collected on filters after the low pressure ablation cell suggest the possibility of a slower cooling velocity of the aerosol, which was observed in the condensed material on the surface of ejected spherical particles. The expansion of the laser aerosol was also investigated using polished brass substrates in the expansion path-way for particle collection.     

Lead determination in whole blood by laser ablation coupled with inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry

This work describes a simple procedure for blood lead level determination. The proposed method requires little sample pretreatment and subsequent direct analysis of a dried blood spot on a filter membrane using laser ablation coupled with inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS). In general, LA-ICP-MS studies are somewhat limited by the lack of matrix-matched standards for calibration purposes. Here we describe aqueous standard calibration and matrix-matched calibration methods. This method was validated by analysis of the reference materials. With the matrix-matched calibration method, the recovery ranged from 97.8% to 112.8%, while the aqueous standard calibration method ranged 90.4% to 122.4%. The lower detection limit was estimated as 0.1 ng mL⁻¹. The determination precision, expressed as the relative standard deviation (RSD), was not worse than 10% for all results. A sample throughput of approximately 5 min per sample made it possible to rapidly screen a large number of samples.     

Nuclear forensic analysis with laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry in CMX-6

Journal of Radioanalytical and Nuclear Chemistry - The 6th Collaborative Materials Exercise, CMX-6, was organized by the Nuclear Forensic International Technical Working Group in 2018 and 2019. Two...