PLASMA SOURCE TOFMS

摘要

Alternative mass analyzers can expand the capability range of plasma source MS. Emerging challenges in modern analytical chemistry often drive the development of new instrumentation and, in turn, the enhanced capabilities of these novel instruments foster new and better science. This cycle is evident in plasma source MS (PSMS), where simple bulk determinations of elemental composition have evolved into sophisticated methods that utilize a host of sampling possibilities offering microanalyses and spatially and time-resolved analyses. Today, the need for rapid, sensitive determinations to provide an ever-greater amount of chemical information is driving developments in PSMS. Inductively coupled plasma MS (ICPMS) is the most widely used and popular PSMS technique because of its outstanding capabilities—multielemental determinations, low detection limits (～10-100 fg/mL), a linear dynamic range reaching 10~(8), and applicability to a wide range of sample types and sampling conditions. Alternative plasma sources, such as glow discharges and microwave plasmas, further extend the capabilities of PSMS.