Principle

Inductively Coupled Plasma-Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS) is an important tool used for metal analysis. A sample aerosol is transported into an argon inductively coupled plasma ion source where it is quickly and efficiently desolvated, atomized and ionized. The resulting ions from the ICP are extracted through a series of cones into the mass spectrometer. Transfer optics guides the ions into a cell (CCT) pressurized with a specific gas where potential interferences are efficiently removed via collisional or controlled reactive processes. The ions are then separated in a quadrupole mass spectrometer by the stability of their trajectories in oscillating electric fields to generate a mass-to-charge ratio (m/z) specific to individual isotopes of an element. Finally, a detector receives an ion signal proportional to the concentration of the element in the original sample.