Fully Simultaneous ICP-MS Paradigm Shift in Inorganic Mass Spectrometry  

For more than 30 years now, Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (ICPMS) has matured into the primary workhorse for inorganic trace and ultra trace analysis. However, until now most instruments operated by scanning or hopping across a range of mass numbers, measuring each isotope signal sequentially. The new SPECTRO MS from SPECTRO Analytical Instruments is the first commercially available ICP-MS capable of truly simultaneous mass spectrometry. A revolutionary new detector placed at the focal plane of the mass spectrometer simultaneously and quantitatively measures the entire mass spectrum, from lithium to uranium.

SPECTRO MS Technology Overview

An ICP-MS operates by introducing a liquid sample is into the high temperature environment of the inductively coupled plasma source. The plasma atomizes the sample and then ionizes the atoms (isotopes). The resulting ions are transferred into a mass spectrometer that separates them according to their mass/charge ratios. Most conventional
MS detectors involve "scanning" the mass/charge ratio of the ions arriving at the detector over time.
Short-term fluctuations in the sample introduction system or the plasma can lead to errors. For similar reasons, transient signals may not be accurately tracked, a problem known as signal "skew". The only real solution is simultaneous and continuous detection of the masses of interest. The new SPECTRO MS, utilizing an entirely new
concept in detectors, is the first instrument to offer all the advantages inherent in the fully simultaneous observation of the entire mass spectrum. This is achieved through the use of an optimized double focusing sector field mass spectrometer in the Mattauch-Herzog geometry, focusing ions of different masses on to the same flat focal plane, but spatially separated. However, until now there has been no commercially available detector capable of detecting and measuring this spatially resolved mass spectrum. Specially developed for SPECTRO, the "Ion 120 Direct Charge Detector" used in the SPECTRO MS is a 120 mm long CMOS (Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor) array
that covers the entire mass range from Li to U in 4800 separate channels. The specific design results in an extremely wide dynamic range of the system, up to 8 orders of magnitude in the basic integration cycle.

Performance and Results

Low limits of detection are expected for any ICPMS instrument. The SPECTRO MS easily achieves these levels over the whole mass range:Element Mass LOD [ppt]
Fig 01
Conclusion time, allowing ratio measurements that are free
The unique SPECTRO MS measures complete of noise from the sample introduction system or
inorganic mass spectra fully simultaneously. All from the plasma itself. The instrumentÕs ability
isotopes are measured at the same instant in to handle transient signals is greatly improved.

Fig 02
Using a 100 ¥g/l multi-element solution (B at 1000 ¥g/l) with a sample uptake rate of 0.8 ml/min and 3 replicates, each of 30 s measurement time.

Additionally, collecting the entire mass spectrum with every single measurement allows for future analysis utilizing any element in the sample, even when the sample is no longer available. The accuracy and precision of the measurements and hence the reliability of the conclusions drawn from them are vastly improved. Last but not least, productivity is also outstanding: the complete mass spectra of up to 100 samples per hour can be recorded with no limitations on the number of elements or isotopes measured.

Do You Think Ions Like Queuing Up?
A hypothetical question of course! But even if we could ask them, the SPECTRO MS makes the question redundant. This novel ICP mass spectrometer analyzes the entire relevant mass spectrum completely simultaneously; faster and
more precisely to boot. SPECTRO MS -Double focusing sector field mass spectrometer with newly developed ion optic and pioneering detector technology -Simultaneous measurement of more than 75 elements with 210 isotopes for improved precision together with highest sample throughput -Fast fingerprinting, internal standardization in real time and the measurement of transient signals, isotope ratios and isotope dilution -Compatible with EPA, FDA, CLP
and 21 CFR Part 11 as well as additional standards and guidelines Find out more about the new SPECTRO MS at
spectro-ap.info@ametek.com.hk Tel +852.2976.9162 http://ms.spectro.com Please visit us at: Tianjin Metals & Machine Tool Exhibition 2011, 8-10 March, Tianjin, China PITTCON 2011, 13-18 March, Atlanta, GA, USA Electronic Exhibition 2011, 15-17 March, Shanghai, China Analytica Vietnam 2011, 7-9 April, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam SPECTRO MS: A New Era in ICP Mass Spectrometry