Determination of calcium, iron and zinc in milk powder by reaction cell inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry

An inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometer (ICP-MS) equipped with a dynamic reaction cell™ (DRC) was used for the determination of Ca, Fe and Zn in milk powder samples. The effect of the operating conditions of the DRC system was studied to get the best signal-to-noise (S/N) ratio. The potentially interfering ⁴⁰Ar⁺, ⁴⁰Ar¹⁶O⁺, ⁴⁰Ca¹⁶O⁺, ⁴⁸Ca¹⁶O⁺ and ³²S¹⁶O¹⁶O⁺ at the masses m/z 40, 56 and 64 were reduced in intensity significantly by using CH₄ as the reaction cell gas in the DRC while a q-value of 0.7 was used. The limits of detection for ⁴⁰Ca, ⁵⁶Fe and ⁶⁴Zn estimated from the external calibration graphs were 1, 0.01 and 0.001 ng ml⁻¹, respectively, which correspond to 1000, 10 and 1 ng g⁻¹ in the original powder sample. This method was applied to the determination of Ca, Fe and Zn in NIST SRM 1549 non-fat milk powder and two milk powder samples purchased locally. The results for the reference sample agreed satisfactorily with the reference values; the accuracy of the determination was better than 3.8, 18 and 2.2% for Ca, Fe and Zn, respectively. The results for which no reference value was available were also found to be in good agreement between different isotopes. Precision (R.S.D.) between sample replicates was better than 10% for all the determinations.     

Determination of chromium, iron and selenium in foodstuffs of animal origin by collision cell technology, inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS), after closed vessel microwave digestion

The determination of chromium (⁵²Cr), iron (⁵⁶Fe) and selenium (⁸⁰Se) isotopes in foodstuffs of animal origin has been performed by collision cell technology (CCT) mode using an inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) as detector after closed vessel microwave digestion. To significantly decrease the argon-based interferences at mass to charge ratios (m/z): 52 (⁴⁰Ar¹²C), 56 (⁴⁰Ar¹⁶O) and 80 (⁴⁰Ar⁴⁰Ar), the gas-flow rates of a helium and hydrogen mixture used in the hexapole collision cell were optimised to 1.5 ml min⁻¹ H₂ and 0.5 ml min⁻¹ He and the quadrupole bias was adjusted daily between −2 and −15 mV. Limits of quantification (LOQ) of 0.025, 0.086 and 0.041 mg kg⁻¹ for Cr, Fe and Se, respectively, in 6% HNO₃ were estimated under optimized CCT conditions. These LOQ were improved by a factor of approximately 10 for each element compared to standard mode.Precision under repeatability, intermediate precision reproducibility and trueness have been tested on nine different certified reference materials in foodstuffs of animal origin and on an external proficiency testing scheme. The results obtained for chromium, iron and selenium were in all cases in good agreement with the certified values and trueness was improved, compared to those obtained in standard mode.     

Determination of sulfur-containing amino acids by capillary electrophoresis dynamic reaction cell inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry

Capillary electrophoresis dynamic reaction cell™ inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (CE-DRC-ICP-MS) for the determination of sulfur-containing amino acids is described. The sulfur-containing amino acids studied include l-cysteine, l-cystine, dl-homocystine and l-methionine. The species studied were well separated using a 70 cm length×75 μm i.d. fused silica capillary while the applied voltage was set at +22 kV and a 10 mmol l⁻¹ disodium tetraborate buffer (pH 9.8) containing 0.1 mmol l⁻¹ EDTA and 0.5 mmol l⁻¹ Triton X-100 was used as the electrophoretic buffer. The sulfur-selective electropherogram was determined at m/z 48 as by using its reaction with O₂ in the reaction cell. The method avoided the effect of polyatomic isobaric interferences at m/z 32 caused by and on by detecting as the oxide ion at m/z 48, which is less interfered. The detection limit of various species studied was in the range of 0.047-0.058 μg S ml⁻¹, which corresponded to the absolute detection limit of 1.3-1.6 pg S based on the injection volume of 27 nl. We determined the concentrations of selected sulfur-containing amino acids in urine and nutritive complement samples. The recovery was in the range of 92-128% for various species.     

Element fingerprinting of marine organisms by dynamic reaction cell inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry

A method for the determination of sixteen elements (Al, As, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Hg, Mn, Mo, Ni, Pb, Se, Sn, V, Zn) in seafood by dynamic reaction cell inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP–DRC–MS) is presented. A preliminary study of polyatomic interferences was carried out in relation to the chemical composition of marine organisms belonging to different taxa. Acid effects and other matrix effects in marine organisms submitted to closed-vessel microwave digestion were investigated as well. Ammonia was the reactive gas used in the DRC to remove polyatomic ions interfering with ²⁷Al, ⁵²Cr, ⁵⁶Fe and ⁵¹V. Optimal conditions for the simultaneous determination of analytes were identified in order to develop a fast multielement method. A suite of real samples (mussels and various fish species) were used during method development along with three certified reference materials: BCR CRM 278R (mussel tissue), BCR CRM 422 (cod muscle) and DORM-2 (dogfish muscle). The proposed analytical approach can be used in conjunction with suitable chemometric procedures to address quality and safety issues in aquaculture and fisheries. As an example, a case study is described in which mussels from three farming sites in the Venice Lagoon were distinguished by multivariate analysis of element fingerprints.      

Capillary electrophoresis inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry

Chemical speciation (extraction of elemental information and identification of molecular environment for an analyte in a complex sample) has been a long sought after goal for analytical chemists. Recently, because of successful developments in more sensitive element-specific detectors and gentle separation schemes, which preserve the true chemical information in a real sample, routine speciation experiments are becoming a common occurrence in the scientific literature. For many reasons, the combination of capillary electrophoresis (for separation of different chemical species) with inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (for element and isotope specific detection) has emerged as the method of choice for these analyses. In this article the basic principles of capillary electrophoresis inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry are discussed. Design consideration for instrument interface, anticipated difficulties with speciation experiments and applications for specific matrices and analytes are also presented in this article.     

Determination of ultratrace levels of dissolved metals in seawater by reaction cell inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry after ammonia induced magnesium hydroxide coprecipitation

A method for the determination of ultratrace amounts of Cr, Fe, Mn, Pb and Zn in seawater has been developed. It combined the low-blank magnesium hydroxide coprecipitation procedure with quadrupole inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry and used the dynamic reaction cell technique to resolve the polyatomic interferences arising from the residual matrix, the solvent and plasma gases. Detection limits (3σ_B, n = 10) for Cr, Fe, Mn, Pb and Zn were 0.02, 0.10, 0.01, 0.002 and 0.19 nM, respectively, using 50 mL of seawater sample. The accuracy of the analytical procedure was verified by the analysis of the seawater reference materials CASS-4, NASS-5, SAFe D2 and SAFe S. The analytical precision ranged from 3% to 16% (n = 6), with a sample throughput of about 6 samples h⁻¹.     

Removal of spectral interferences and accuracy monitoring of trace cadmium in feeds by dynamic reaction cell inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry

In the direct ICP-MS determination of Cd in feed samples, significant spectral interferences caused by high concentrations of Mo can play an important role. In the present study, Mo based oxide or hydroxide polyatomic interferences were eliminated by dynamic reaction cell (DRC) with O₂ as reaction gas. Some other oxide or hydroxide interferences (i.e. Zr and Ru) were simultaneously reduced by this technology. These potentially interfering polyatomic ions ⁹⁵Mo¹⁶O⁺, ⁹⁴Mo¹⁶OH⁺, ⁹⁴Zr¹⁶OH⁺, ⁹⁸Mo¹⁶O⁺, ⁹⁸Ru¹⁶O⁺ and ⁹⁷Mo¹⁶OH⁺ on ¹¹¹Cd⁺ and ¹¹⁴Cd⁺ were oxidized to higher oxides MoO₂⁺, MoO₃⁺, MoO₄⁺, RuO₃⁺, RuO₄⁺, MoO₂H⁺, MoO₃H⁺, ZrO₂H⁺ and ZrO₃H⁺. The rejection parameter q (RPq) of DRC and the flow rate of O₂ were optimized and set at 0.75 and 2.0 ml min^{− 1}, respectively. In addition, the residual isobaric interference of ¹¹⁴Sn on ¹¹⁴Cd was corrected using a mathematical correction equation. The limit of quantitation (LOQ) for ¹¹¹Cd or ¹¹⁴Cd was 0.8 or 1.0 ng g^{− 1} and the analysis results of NIST 1567a wheat flour and 1568a rice flour standard reference materials were in good agreement with the certified values. As the routine cadmium monitoring method in our laboratory, the proposed method was applied to the accuracy determination of 562 pig feed samples for the Monitoring of Central Meat Reserves (CMR) of China.     

Quantification of phosphorus in DNA using capillary electrophoresis hyphenated with inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry

We have analyzed phosphorus in an enzymatically digested DNA molecule using capillary electrophoresis (CE) hyphenated with inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). The DNA concentration was quantified by the phosphorus value obtained in the CE-ICP-MS analysis. The CE-ICP-MS measurement, for which the interface device AIF-01 equipped three layered nebulizer was adopted, was achieved with limited μL/min nebulizing without loss of sample in the vaporizing chamber. The samples of nucleotides and free phosphate were separated well in the CE-ICP-MS measurement, and the calibration curve (0.1-10μg/mL) of the phosphorus showed a linear (R(2)=0.999) increase in intensity. After digestion of the 100-bp double-strand DNA sample to deoxyribonucleotide-5'-monophosphates (dNMPs) by phosphodiesterase-I, phosphorus was detected by CE-ICP-MS without further purification steps. In this study, we applied two calculation schemes of DNA analysis using a dNMP concentration obtained from CE-ICP-MS. Comparative CE-ICP-MS analysis with DNA digested to dNMPs showed that the assay gave an equal value obtained from the total DNA quantification using fluorescence detection. The detection limits of the DNA sample obtained from these species and phosphorus in nucleotides using CE-ICP-MS were 3.1-26ng/mL. These LOD values were equal to the conventional fluorescence determination of DNA.     

电感耦合等离子体质谱(ICP-MS)法测定锆钛矿中的铪

锆钛矿组成成分复杂,存在耐高温的锆、钛化合物,不易分解,且铪以类质同象进入锆矿物,导致锆钛矿中的铪含量不均,因此完全分解锆钛矿并准确测定其中含量不同的铪成为一个难题。本文建立了碳酸钠-硼砂高温熔融,以178Hf为分析同位素及50 ng/mL185Re为内标,使用电感耦合等离子体质谱法（ICP-MS）测定锆钛矿中铪的新方法,可准确锆钛矿中含量不均的铪。实验研究了锆钛矿成分及其熔融方法,结果表明碳酸钠-硼砂高温熔融效果最好,可完全溶解耐高温难分解的锆钛矿,当碳酸钠-硼砂质量配比为2:1时熔融效果最佳。电感耦合等离子体质谱法具有检出限低、灵敏度高、线性范围宽等优势,可用于测定锆钛矿中含量不均的铪,ICP-MS蠕动泵转速为45 rpm、雾化流量为1.06 L/min时雾化效率最优。在选定的实验条件下,HfO2质谱强度与其质量浓度在0.01～250 ng/mL范围内呈良好的线性关系,相关系数为0.9997,背景等效浓度为0.029 ng/mL,方法检出限为0.0032 ng/mL。按实验方法对中国国家标准物质中的HfO2进行测定,测定值与认定值一致,相对标准偏差在1.6%~3.2%之间。按实验方法对锆钛矿样品中的HfO2进行测定并进行加标回收率实验,测定结果的相对标准偏差（RSDs,n=9）在0.9～3.4%之间,加标回收率在96%～106%之间,满足国家地质矿产行业标准DZ/T 0130—2006的要求。     

Comparison of standard and reaction cell inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry in the determination of chromium and selenium species by HPLC-ICP-MS

Elemental speciation is becoming a common analytical procedure for geochemical investigations. The various redox species of environmentally relevant metals can have vastly different biogeochemical properties, including sorption, solubility, bioavailability, and toxicity. The use of high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) coupled to elemental specific detectors, such as inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS), has become one of the most important speciation methods employed. This is due to the separation versatility of HPLC and the sensitive and selective detection capabilities of ICP-MS. The current study compares standard mode ICP-MS to recently developed reaction cell (RC) ICP-MS, which has the ability to remove or reduce many common polyatomic interferences that can limit the ability of ICP-MS to quantitate certain analytes in complex matrices. Determination of chromium and selenium redox species is achieved using ion-exchange chromatography with elemental detection by standard and RC-ICP-MS, using various chromium and selenium isotopes. In this study, method performance and detection limits for the various permutations of the method (isotope monitored or ICP-MS detection mode) were found to be comparable and generally less than 1 μg L⁻¹. The method was tested on synthetic laboratory samples, surface water, groundwater, and municipal tap water matrices.     

碰撞池反应-电感耦合等离子体质谱(ICP-MS)法测定出口食品营养强化剂中的26种元素

采用碰撞池反应-电感耦合等离子体质谱(ICP-MS)法建立了11种营养强化剂中26种元素的He碰撞反应池模式下的全定量检测方法。考察了不同的样品处理方式及样品称样量对分析过程的影响,比较了普通模式和He碰撞反应池模式的优缺点。实验结果表明,对于易溶性营养强化剂可以采用直接酸溶液溶解进样方式,且定容体积为10 mL时有机强化剂称样量控制在0.20 g、无机强化剂称样量控制在0.10 g以下时基体干扰较小,可得到满意的测定结果。各元素加标回收率在81.0%~110%,相对标准偏差(RSD)为2.1%~5.4%,可实现对26种元素一次性测定,为河北辖区出口营养强化剂提供分析方法和风险监控分析依据。     

电感耦合等离子体质谱技术最新进展

对1998年以来电感耦合等离子体质谱技术（ICP－MS）的最新进展作一简要回顾。内容包括同位素比值分析、双聚焦扇形磁场高分辨ICP－MS、多接收器磁扇形等离子体质谱仪（MC－ICP－MS）、飞行时间等离子体质谱仪（ICP－TOF－MS）、“冷”等离子体及屏蔽炬技术以及动态碰撞／反应池技术等进展。     

电感耦合等离子体-质谱法测定高纯硫粉末中17种痕量杂质

建立电感耦合等离子体-质谱(ICP-MS)法测定高纯硫粉中Si、P、V、Cr、Mn、Ni、Co、Cu、As、Zn、Zr、Cd、In、Sb、Te、Pb、Bi等17种痕量金属杂质含量的方法。样品用HClO4溶解后挥发硫基体,使样品中杂质元素得到富集,各杂质元素的方法检出限为0.1～50ng/g。方法加标回收率为83%～117%。各杂质元素均为10ng/mL的混合标准溶液平行7次测定的相对标准偏差均小于5%。该方法能够满足纯度为99.999%～99.9999%的高纯硫样品中杂质测定的需要。     

电感耦合等离子体质谱(ICP-MS)法测定锰矿冶炼烟尘中多种重金属元素

为了准确测定锰矿冶炼烟尘中重金属元素的含量,为锰矿冶炼过程中监测和评价环境影响提供有力的数据支撑,采用HCl+HNO₃+HClO₄+HF消解体系对试样进行前处理,通过选用合适的内标溶液消除测定中的非质谱干扰,采用碰撞池模式和编辑校正方程消除质谱干扰,从而建立了电感耦合等离子体质谱法测定锰矿冶炼烟尘中的Cr、Ni、Cd、Tl、Pb等多种重金属元素的方法。实验结果表明,各元素标准曲线的线性相关系数均大于0.999 9,方法检出限为0.007～0.094 mg/kg,样品测定的相对标准偏差(RSD,n=11)在0.43%～4.9%,样品加标回收率为93.8%～107%。方法具有操作简便、线性范围宽、检出限低、精密度高等优点,满足锰矿冶炼烟尘中Cr、Ni、Cd、Tl、Pb等多种重金属元素同时测定的要求。     

Simultaneous quantification of 17 trace elements in blood by dynamic reaction cell inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (DRC-ICP-MS) equipped with a high-efficiency sample introduction system

A quadrupole inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometer (Q-ICP-MS) equipped with a dynamic reaction cell (DRC) and coupled with a desolvating nebulization system (APEX-IR) was employed to determine 17 elements (Al, As, Ba, Cd, Co, Cr, Li, Mn, Mo, Ni, Pb, Sb, Se, Sn, Sr, V, and Zr) in blood samples. Ammonia (for Al, Cr, Mn, and V) and O₂ (for As and Se) were used as reacting gases. Selection of the best flow rate of the gases and optimization of the quadrupole dynamic bandpass tuning parameter (RPq) were carried out, using digested blood diluted 1 + 9 with deionized water and spiked with 1 μg L⁻¹ of Al, Cr, Mn, V and 5 μg L⁻¹ of As and Se. Detection limits were determined in digested blood using the 3σ criterion. The desolvating system allowed a sufficient sensitivity to be achieved to determine elements at levels of ng L⁻¹ without detriment of signal stability. The accuracy of the method was tested with the whole blood certified reference material (CRM), certified for Al, As, Cd, Co, Cr, Mn, Mo, Ni, Pb, Sb, Se, and V, and with indicative values for Ba, Li, Sn, Sr, and Zr. The addition calibration approach was chosen for analysis. In order to confirm the DRC data, samples were also analyzed by means of sector field inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (SF-ICP-MS), operating in medium (m/Δm = 4000) and high (m/Δm = 10,000) resolution mode and achieving a good agreement between the two techniques.     

Determination of rare-earth elements in uranium-bearing materials by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry

A novel and simple analytical procedure has been developed for the trace-level determination of lanthanides (rare-earth elements) in uranium-bearing materials by inductively coupled plasma sector-field mass spectrometry (ICP-SFMS). The method involves a selective extraction chromatographic separation of lanthanides using TRU™ resin followed by ICP-SFMS analysis. The limits of detection of the method proposed is in the low pg g⁻¹ range, which are approximately two orders of magnitude better than that of without chemical separation. The method was validated by the measurement of reference material and applied for the analysis of uranium ore concentrates (yellow cakes) for nuclear forensic purposes, as a potential application of the methodology.     

Development of a new method for sulfide determination by vapor generator–inductively coupled plasma–mass spectrometry

A new sensitive methodology for the determination of total reduced sulfur species in natural waters and acid volatile sulfides in sediments at low levels (μg L^− 1) is described. Reduced sulfur species were separated from the water matrix in the form of H₂S after reaction with hydrochloric acid in a commercial vapor generator coupled to an inductively coupled plasma quadrupole mass spectrometer (VG–ICP–QMS) equipped with a reaction cell. The method avoided the effect of polyatomic isobaric interferences at m/z 32 caused by ¹⁶O¹⁶O⁺ and ¹⁴N¹⁸O⁺ through the elimination of the aqueous matrix, a source of oxygen. By introducing a mixture of helium and hydrogen gases into the octopole reaction cell, a series of ion-molecule reactions were induced to reduce the interfering polyatomic species. Operating conditions of the octopole reaction cell system and the analyzer were optimized to get the best signal to background ratio for ³²S; a full factorial 2³ experimental design was developed in order to evaluate which variables had a significant effect and a simplex methodology was applied to find the optimum conditions for the variables. The new method was evaluated by comparison to the standard potentiometric method. The analytical methodology developed was applied to the analysis of reduced sulfur species in natural waters and acid volatile sulfides in sea sediments.     

电感耦合等离子体质谱(ICP-MS)法测定土壤中的有效钼

准确快速测定土壤中的有效钼,是评价土壤肥力的重要指标,对指导作物生产有重大意义。本文采用草酸-草酸铵溶液浸提土壤样品,待测浸提液稀释5倍后通过电感耦合等离子体质谱法在氦气模式下测定土壤中有效钼的含量,建立了土壤中有效钼高灵敏度分析的检测方法。选择103Rh为内标元素,校正仪器在测定过程中引起的信号飘移。对两种前处理方式进行比较,确定了震荡30 min、放置过夜的浸提方法浸提效果更好且更利于大批量样品的分析。使用震荡30 min、放置过夜的浸提方法对5个土壤标准物质有效钼进行前处理,其测定值均在标准值范围内;分别在无气体模式和氦气模式下比较了浓度为0mg/L、1mg/L、2mg/L、5mg/L、10mg/L、50mg/L的Mn对5ug/L 95Mo测定浓度的影响,结果表明氦气模式下的动能歧视可有效去除95Mo测定过程中的多原子离子的干扰,氦气模式测定有效钼明显优于无气体模式;分别对待测溶液稀释5倍和未稀释的内标回收率趋势进行监测,发现未稀释的样品内标回收率随着测量样品数的增多呈下降趋势,而稀释5倍对基体干扰的消除有显著效果。对5个土壤样品分别重复测定6次,其RSD均小于4.1%;线性相关系数为1.0000;方法检出限为0.0012 mg/kg。综上,该方法测定土壤有效钼结果准确,重现性好,灵敏度高,且适合大批量样品的分析。     

Determination of phosphorus using capillary electrophoresis and micro-high-performance liquid chromatography hyphenated with inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry for the quantification of nucleotides

We performed the quantification of phosphorus in deoxynucleotides using capillary electrophoresis (CE) and micro-HPLC (μHPLC) hyphenated with inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). DNA and its component units have conventionally been determined by photometry; however, more selective and sensitive methods are needed for small biological samples. CE and μHPLC offer the advantages of good separation and small consumption of samples, and ICP-MS is a highly sensitive technique for the determination of a chemical element. Therefore, we have developed an interface device for combining CE and μHPLC with ICP-MS for quantifying nucleotides based on phosphorus content. The interface utilizes 4.5 μL/min for nebulizing and effective introduction of the sample into ICP. The samples of nucleotides and free phosphoric acid were well separated in the CE–ICP-MS measurement, and the calibration curves (1–100 μg/mL) of the nucleotides showed a linear (R² > 0.999) increase in intensity. Similarly, the samples of nucleotides were baseline separated using μHPLC–ICP-MS, and the calibration curves of the nucleotides were linear (R² > 0.998). The detection limits of these species and phosphorus in nucleotides using CE–ICP-MS and μHPLC–ICP-MS were 0.77–6.5 ng/mL and 4.0–6.5 ng/mL, respectively. These values were about one or two orders lower than those in a previous report. The sample volumes of these experiments were calculated to be about 10 nL and 50 nL per analysis. Therefore, these analytical methods have the potential to be useful for the determination of biological samples, such as DNA and RNA molecules.     

电感耦合等离子体质谱法测定手机壳套中14种可迁移元素

建立电感耦合等离子体质谱法测定手机壳套中14种可迁移元素含量的方法。样品经人工模拟汗液溶液振荡处理,使14种特定元素迁移至模拟溶液中,然后进行微波消解,采用电感耦合等离子体质谱法对消解液进行测定。14种元素在各自的质量浓度范围内具有良好的线性关系,相关系数均大于0.999,方法检出限为0.004~0.400μg/L。样品加标回收率为88.2%~99.5%,测定结果的相对标准偏差为2.5%~9.3%(n=5)。该方法操作简便,灵敏度高,线性范围广,定量准确,适用于手机壳套中14种可迁移元素含量的测定。