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This is the 16th Atomic Spectrometry Update (ASU) to focus on advances in elemental speciation and covers a period of approximately 12 months from January 2023. This ASU review deals with all aspects of the analytical atomic spectrometry speciation methods developed for: the determination of oxidation states; organometallic compounds; coordination compounds; metal and heteroatom-containing biomolecules, including metalloproteins, proteins, peptides and amino acids; and the use of metal-tagging to facilitate detection via atomic spectrometry. As with all ASU reviews the focus of the research reviewed includes those methods that incorporate atomic spectrometry as the measurement technique. However, because speciation analysis is inherently focused on the relationship between the metal(loid) atom and the organic moiety it is bound to, or incorporated within, atomic spectrometry alone cannot be the sole analytical approach of interest. For this reason, molecular detection techniques are also included where they have provided a complementary approach to speciation analysis. The number of publications covered this year has increased since last year but remains relatively low compared to many of the years that this ASU has been published for. However, there is a good breadth of elements covered, over 20 this year, with the most popular elements still being As, Hg and Se whilst Ge and Tc both make their first appearances this year. Another item to note is the decreasing quality of the abstract for many of the papers, with detail on the methodology, key results with data included, conclusions and implications thereof missing. This is likely to lead to fewer researchers reading the article. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This update covers the literature published between approximately June 2022 and April 2023 and is the latest part of a series of annual reviews. It is designed to provide the reader with an overview of the current state of the art with respect to the atomic spectrometric analysis of various metals, chemicals and materials. Advances have been made in several areas. For cultural heritage scientists, it is worth noting that, after many years of inserting analytical data into chemometric tools in an attempt to elucidate provenance, several free to use algorithms that take an inexperienced analyst through the entire process have been developed. It is envisaged that such algorithms will also be developed for forensic samples. In other areas, there has been a big increase in papers reporting methods for analysing coals, with many of these applications employing LIBS. This increase is presumably a result of the use of coal increasing rapidly in some countries. The use of LIBS for analyses is still growing in many areas. For ferrous and non-ferrous metals, the development of more reliable calibration strategies for LIBs has been a common theme. The standoff ability of LIBS has also been put to good use in the nuclear industry and for the detection of explosives. Waste management of assorted materials, e.g. polymers, metals, etc. has also used LIBS analyses, often used in conjunction with chemometric data analysis tools. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This is the 15th Atomic Spectrometry Update (ASU) to focus on advances in elemental speciation and covers a period of approximately 12 months from January 2022. This ASU review deals with all aspects of the analytical atomic spectrometry speciation methods developed for: the determination of oxidation states; organometallic compounds; coordination compounds; metal and heteroatom-containing biomolecules, including metalloproteins, proteins, peptides and amino acids; and the use of metal-tagging to facilitate detection via atomic spectrometry. As with all ASU reviews the focus of the research reviewed includes those methods that incorporate atomic spectrometry as the measurement technique. However, because speciation analysis is inherently focused on the relationship between the metal(loid) atom and the organic moiety it is bound to, or incorporated within, atomic spectrometry alone cannot be the sole analytical approach of interest. For this reason molecular detection techniques are also included where they have provided a complementary approach to speciation analysis. This year the number of publications covered has fallen again along with the number of elements covered, most likely due to effects of the Covid-19 pandemic restricting laboratory access. The most popular elements remain as As, Hg and Se and the range of matrices under study is still broad with biological, environmental and foods being the most popular. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An accurate and precise method for the determination of [delta][sup.34]S measurements by multicollector inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry has been developed. Full uncertainty budgets, taking into consideration all the uncertainties of the measurement process, have been calculated. The technique was evaluated by comparing measured values with a range of isotopically enriched sulfur solutions prepared by gravimetric addition of a [sup.34]S spike. The gravimetric and measured results exhibited a correlation of [R.sup.2] >0.999. Repeat measurements were also made after adding Na (up to 420 [micro]g [g.sup.-1]) and Ca (up to 400 [micro]g [g.sup.-1]) salts to the sulfur standard. No significant deviations in the [delta][sup.34]S values were observed. The Russell correction expression (Ingle, C.; Sharp, B.; Horstwood, M.; Parrish, R.; Lewis, D. J. J. Anal. At. Spectrom. 2003, 18, 219) was used to correct for mass bias on the [sup.34]S/[sup.32]S isotope amount ratio from the mass bias observed for the [sup.30]Si/[sup.28]Si isotope amount ratio. Consistent compensation for instrumental mass bias was achieved. Resolution of the measured [delta][sup.34]S values was better than 1 [per thousand] after consideration of all uncertainty components. The technique was evaluated for practical applications by measurement of [delta]34S for a range of mineral waters by pneumatic nebulization sample introduction and the analysis of genuine and counterfeit pharmaceuticals using both laser ablation sample introduction and liquid chromatography. For the former two cases polyatomic interferences were resolved by operating the MC-ICPMS in medium resolution, while for the chromatographic analyses polyatomic interferences were minimized by the use of a membrane desolvator, allowing the instrument to be operated at a resolution of 400.