Table of Contents
What is an ICP instrument?
Inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) is a type of mass spectrometry that uses an inductively coupled plasma to ionize the sample. It is known and used for its ability to detect metals and several non-metals in liquid samples at very low concentrations.
What is the function of ICP?
ICP (Inductively Coupled Plasma) Spectroscopy is an analytical method used to detect and measure elements to analyze chemical samples. The process is based on the ionization of a sample by an extremely hot plasma, usually made from argon gas.
Why has ICP-MS become an important and widely used analytical method?
ICP-MS has become an important tool for elemental analysis because of its high sensitivity, its high degree of selectivity, and its good precision for determining many elements in the periodic table.
What can ICP-MS detect?
ICP-MS can be used to measure the individual isotopes of each element; this capability brings value to laboratories interested in one specific isotope of an element or in the ratio between two isotopes of an element.
How does ICP testing work?
Inductively Coupled Plasma, or ICP analysis, is a powerful chemical analysis method which can be used to identify both trace amounts and major concentrations of nearly all elements within a sample. ICP analysis utilizes a plasma torch to vaporize fine droplets of the sample.
What function does the ICP torch have in ICP-MS?
In ICP mass spectrometry (ICP-MS), an inductively coupled argon plasma torch is used to atomize and ionize a sample, which is usually introduced as an aerosol or by means of laser ablation.
How is ICP-MS used?
What are the advantages of ICP over AAS?
The advantages of the ICP-MS technique above AAS (Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy) or ICP-OES (inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry) are: Extremely low detection limits. A large linear range. Possibilities to detect isotope composition of elements.