Determination of trace elements in small amounts of environmental samples by ICP-MS: A review

Inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) is used for multielemental analysis and for the determination of selected elements at the trace and ultratrace level in small amounts of environmental materials. The lowest possible sample weight for performing multielemental trace element analysis on environmental and biological samples by quadrupole based ICP-MS is discussed Samples were digested in a mixture of nitric acid, hydrogen peroxide and hydrogen fluoride by closedvessel microwave digestion. The analysis of certified standard reference material (SRM) Bovine Liver NIST SRM 1577b at sample weights down to 1 mg significantly lower than those recommended mostly yielded recoveries in the range of 95-110%. Our results show that in the case of a homogeneous SRM it is possible to use them in very low amounts (1-5 mg) for method development and quality control. The detection limits for the analysis of solid biological samples by ICP-MS were determined up to sub-ng/g. This paper discusses methodological developments for the quantitative determination of trace elements and isotope ratio measurements on small amounts of biological and environmental samples and different. applications e.g., for determination of selected elements and long-lived radionuclides using quadrupole-based ICP-MS with and without a collision cell vs. double-focusing sector field ICP-MS.