University of Missouri-Columbia homepage    University of Missouri-Columbia
MURR Introduction to the nation's premier university research reactor MURR Research and Development--R&D at the nation's premier university research reactor MURR Education--training tomorrow's nuclear scientists, engineers and technicians MURR Products and Services--providing quality nuclear products and services to a global community MURR Operations--safe and reliable MURR Research Opportunities for MU faculty and students
quality elemental analytical services that respond to your needs...click here to return to Analytical Chemistry main page
neutron activation analysis, chemical analysis
ICP-MS
Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS) is a very powerful tool for trace (ppb-ppm) and ultra-trace (ppq-ppb) elemental analysis. ICP-MS is rapidly becoming the technique of choice in many analytical laboratories for the accurate and precise measurements needed for today’s demanding applications. ICP MS

In ICP-MS, a plasma or gas consisting of ions, electrons and neutral particles is formed from Argon gas. The plasma is used to atomize and ionize the elements in a sample. The resulting ions are then passed through a series of apertures (cones) into the high vacuum mass analyzer. The isotopes of the elements are identified by their mass-to-charge ratio (m/e) and the intensity of a specific peak in the mass spectrum is proportional to the amount of that isotope (element) in the original sample. ICP MS
The following pages describe the instrument and the techniques:

  • Creating the Ions The inductively-coupled plasma is a very aggressive ion source...
  • Sampling the Ions A special set of metal cones and ion-focusing elements are used to extract the charged atoms from the plasma...
  • Analysis Methods At MURR we have a choice of two ICP analysis methods.
  • Comparisons of Techniques
    • Quadropole ICP-MS is able to differentiate easily between the different isotopes of a single element or between one element and another of differing mass.
      • Advantanges
      • Disadvantages
    • High-Resolution ICP-MS is able to resolve most isotopes from any molecular species that would otherwise interfere with their analysis.
      • Advantanges
      • Disadvantages
  • The Analysis: Calibration Any sample entered into the mass spectrometer under exactly the same conditions will return a count rate, which can be converted directly to concentration for each element from a calibration curve.
Contact us
(UMCReactorTA@missouri.edu) 		Continue
to "ICP-MS--Creating the Ions"
Detection Limits Request a Quote

back to NAA Intro forward for more on ICP-MS

MURR Introduction to the nation's premier university research reactor MURR Research and Development--R&D at the nation's premier university research reactor MURR Education--training tomorrow's nuclear scientists, engineers and technicians MURR Products and Services--providing quality nuclear products and services to a global community MURR Center homepage MURR Center homepage MURR Operations--safe and reliable University of Missouri-Columbia homepage MURR Site Map


MURR Relicensing
The reactor is in the process of relicensing for another 20 years of nuclear-based research, education and medical and other applications. Check here for project updates.


Content Copyright © 2003-2008 The Curators of the University of Missouri
DMCA and other copyright information. All rights reserved.
An equal opportunity/ADA institution.
If you would like more information or experience difficulty with any of these pages,
please contact our web editor.
Last updated October 2008