Ed McCurdy

Method setup and optimization steps are explored to illustrate how an ICP-MS/MS method can be defined and tested to ensure consistent performance. Users can benefit from improved interference removal performance without the complex method development inherent in the use of ion-molecule reaction chemistry

A method to measure ultrafine silica nanoparticles using ICP-MS/MS to control the elemental and polyatomic ion backgrounds is described here.

Titanium (Ti) is used in lightweight alloys, catalysts, cutting and grinding tools, and medical implants. Most Ti is refined into the white pigment titanium dioxide (TiO2), used in paint, paper, plastics and food, and in consumer products such as toothpaste and sunscreens. TiO2 is considered inert and safe, but TiO2 nanoparticles are much more reactive and bioavailable, so they may have adverse effects on human health and the environment. There is a need for analytical techniques and methods for accurate, low level analysis of Ti in environmental samples, biological tissues, and other samples. This application is difficult for conventional quadrupole ICP-MS because of the presence of matrix-based spectral interferences on the isotopes of Ti. In this paper, we show how the interferences can be removed using tandem ICP-MS (ICP-MS-MS). This allows sub-ng/L (ppt) detection limits to be achieved, and ensures that accuracy is maintained in the presence of complex sample matrices

The recently developed technology of triple-quadrupole inductively coupled plasma–mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) offers a unique solution for the removal of spectral interferences in ICP-MS.

Inductively coupled plasma–mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) is a key analytical tool in many laboratories. It is used for elemental determinations across a wide range of analyses, including environmental, semiconductor, food safety, geological, chemical, petrochemical, nuclear, clinical, forensic, and research applications. Since the early publications during the development of ICP-MS, it has been apparent that one of the key limitations of the technique was the presence of molecular ions that overlap the preferred isotopes of several analytes. These molecular ions are typically called "polyatomic" ions, and are derived from combinations of the elements present in the plasma, the solvent and the sample matrix.