New Era in ICP Mass Spectrometry

SPECTRO (Germany) presents the first fully simultaneous measuring mass spectrometer with inductively coupled plasma (ICP-MS; see “Background” section) in the world. The SPECTRO MS records the entire elemental spectrum between lithium and uranium for every analysis. Users achieve a greatly increased sample throughput rate and much better precision and accuracy compared to using a sequential mass spectrometer.

“The SPECTRO MS will change mass spectrometry forever. The option of being able to measure simultaneously will create a revolution on the market similar to the one created by the optical emission spectrometers several years ago,” reports Manfred Bergsch, SPECTRO’s Managing Director. “The SPECTRO MS delivers not only much more precise and reproducible results than a conventional mass spectrometer, but also measures a great deal faster; opening new perspectives and applications for laboratories.”

The range of applications for the new SPECTRO MS is diverse. Bergsch: “We see many application areas especially for public and commercial research and development laboratories. The number of samples and the requirements for these institutions are extremely high. The SPECTRO MS can truly demonstrate its strengths here – precision, reproducibility, detection limits, sample throughput. We will quickly establish the SPECTRO MS as the standard system in this area.”

In addition to research laboratories, simultaneous mass spectrometry is attractive for many branches of industry: Environmental, chemical and pharmaceutical laboratories profit greatly from the instrument’s detection limits and sample throughput rates. Precious metal processors and refineries will appreciate the high precision of the instrument. New applications can be developed with the option to examine isotope ratios together with the ability to transfer the precision of the isotope ratio analysis to the quantitative determination of element contents using isotope dilution: In this way, geology laboratories can more accurately characterize samples.

For almost 30 years, mass spectrometry with inductively coupled plasma (ICP-MS) has belonged to the established procedures for elemental analysis: The element contents are analyzed based on the different masses of the elements. The liquid sample is sprayed with a nebulizer into an ionized, 10,000 degree Celsius argon plasma. The plasma ionizes all of the elements contained in the sample. The ions are transferred into the ion optic by a vacuum interface, bundled into a beam and focused into the actual mass spectrometer. The mass spectrometer separates the ion beam according to the mass/charge ratio. The detector records the ions, enabling an analysis of the elemental contents. The unique combination of ion optic, mass spectrometer and detector makes it possible for the new SPECTRO MS – as the first ICP-MS instrument in the world – to separate and simultaneously detect the entire ion beam.