What is ICP-MS Used For?

Inductively Coupled Plasma - Mass Spectrometer; that is a mouthful. ICP-MS for short is a more recent advancement in analytical instrumentation designed to detect low and trace levels of metals in various samples in their native form or as part of a compound. These samples can be derived from everyday things our families encounter.

The applications of ICP-MS run the gambit:

• Lead in toys
• Metals in fly ash waste
• Leachate from landfills
• Metals in drinking and wastewater
• Medical devices
• Pharmaceutical drug development and packaging
• Cannabis

Understanding Potentially Harmful Levels of Metals

It is important to understand the levels of these metals whether they be native to the material or environment as some of these metals containing compounds can be hazardous to one’s health. Over time, we have used the advancement in ICP-MS and other analytical techniques to understand what contaminants we are potentially putting into our bodies or placing into the environment.

How Do I Start with ICP-MS?

Getting the right ICP-MS OEM representatives and subject matter experts is crucial to your instrument selection and metals workflow success. Some of the critical infrastructure items to consider when evaluating an ICP-MS workflow:

• Chemicals (water and acids)
• Standards
• Safety (waste containment and storage)
• Instrument Exhaust
• Autosampler isolation (controlling ambient contaminants that can cause erroneous results)
• Instrument and Vacuum Pump Maintenance
• Power protection and isolation (UPS and Surge)
• Instrument gasses (Argon, Collision, and Reaction Cell)
• Support Equipment (acid digestion, weighing)

It is also important to have the right ICP-MS consumables on hand for your analyses. Knowing what consumables you need is critical to achieving reproducible and accurate analytical results:

• Torches
• Spray Chamber
• Nebulizer
• Skimmer Cones
• Peristaltic Pump Tubing