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Currently, there is no legal limit for methyl mercury (MeHg) in food; thus, no standardized method for the determination of MeHg in seafood exists within the European jurisdiction. In anticipation of a future legislative limit an inductively coupled plasma isotope dilution mass spectrometry (GC-ICP-ID-MS) method was developed in collaboration with the European Standardization Organization (CEN). The method comprises spiking the tissue sample with Me201Hg, followed by decomposition with tetramethylammonium hydroxide, pH adjustment and derivatization with sodium tetraethylborate, and finally organic extraction of the derivatized MeHg in a hexane phase. Subsequently, the sample is analyzed via GC-ICP-MS and the result calculated using the ID equation. The working range of the method was 0.0005-1.321 mg/kg MeHg in marine tissue, with an internal reproducibility (RSD) of 12-1%. The method was validated based on statistical measures, such as the z-scores, using the commercially available reference materials from National Institute of Standards and Technology Standard Reference Material (NIST SRM) 1566b, NIST SRM 2977 and National Research Council of Canada (NRCC) TORT 2, NRCC, DORM 3, NRCC DOLT 4, and European Reference Material (ERM) CE 464. Z-scores for all standard reference materials, except for NIST SRM 1566b, were better than 11.51. The wide range of marine tissues used during the validation ensures that the method will be applicable for measuring of MeHg in seafood matrixes of all kinds.

The influence of the addition of carbon using methane or methanol/water to an inductively coupled plasma (ICP) via the carrier gas flow on the sensitivity in laser ablation-inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) was studied. During the ablation of SRM NIST 610 with simultaneous addition of CH(4) (0.6-1.4 ml min(-1)), a sensitivity enhancement of more than one order of magnitude for selected analytes (e.g. (75)As(+)) was observed. In addition to the sensitivity enhancement for As, Te, I and Se, also all other measured elements showed a significantly enhanced sensitivity (minimum by a factor of 2). Potential mechanisms for the observed intensity enhancement include charge transfer reactions, a change in the ICP shape and a temperature increase in the plasma. Furthermore, the aspiration of a methanol-water mixture into a cooled spray chamber and the simultaneous addition to the laser ablated aerosol was investigated. This type of mixing leads to a sensitivity enhancement up to a factor of 20. To prevent clogging of the sampler cone and skimmer cone by carbon deposition, a fast cleaning procedure for the interface is tested during running ICP, which allows the application of such a set-up for specific applications.

Changes in phase and chemical composition of the mineral titanite (monoclinic CaTiSiO(5)) during laser ablation and plasma-aerosol interaction were investigated using electron diffraction and electron microbeam X-ray analysis with transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Laser ablation of titanite with a solid state 213 nm nanosecond laser generates a bimodal aerosol consisting of condensed nanoparticles and spherical micrometer-sized particles. The two types of particles produced by laser ablation are amorphous on the scale resolvable by the electron diffraction. The ratio of Ca-Si-Ti does not change significantly during laser ablation. Aerosol of titanite particles introduced into the ICP and collected after interaction with the plasma contains nanometer-sized particles of a condensate and spherical micrometer-sized particles with a molten surface. The condensed particles are enriched in silicon whereas the spherical micrometer-sized particles show a deficiency in Si relative to the titanite composition. During laser ablation-inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA-ICPMS) analysis of titanite, Si and Ti showed positive and negative fractionation trends relative to Ca, respectively. This is consistent with the observed chemical composition changes of the titanite aerosol within the ICP. This study links for the first time the chemical and phase changes of a sample within the ICP to the elemental fractionation during LA-ICPMS.

The figures of merit of a pulsed glow discharge time-of-flight mass spectrometer (GD-TOFMS) as a detector for gas chromatography (GC) analysis were evaluated. The mass resolution for the GD-TOFMS was determined on FWHM in the high mass range (208Pb+) as high as 5,500. Precision of 400 subsequent analyses was calculated on 63Cu+ to be better than 1% RSD with no significant drift over the time of the analysis. Isotope precision based on the 63Cu+/65Cu+ ratio over 400 analyses was 1.5% RSD. The limits of detection for gaseous analytes (toluene in methanol as solvent) were determined to be as low as several hundred ppb or several hundred pg absolute without using any pre-concentration technique. Furthermore, the different GD source parameters like capillary distance, cathode-anode spacing, and GD source pressure with regards to the accessible elemental, structural, and molecular information were evaluated. It was demonstrated that each of these parameters has severe influence on the ratio of elemental, structural, and parent molecular information in chemical speciation analysis.

The capabilities of a millisecond pulsed glow discharge time-of-flight mass spectrometer for the quantitative analysis of organic molecules were investigated. Mixtures of analytes were separated by gas chromatography, and mass spectra were collected at three different time regimes during the pulse cycle-the prepeak, plateau, and afterpeak time regimes. Elemental information was collected in the prepeak, structural information in the plateau, and molecular ion information in the afterpeak. A sample mixture containing toluene, o-xylene, o-dichlorobenzene, and a binary mixture of methanol and sec-butanol were considered. Calibration curves were constructed for each time regime based on the intensities of the elemental, fragment, and molecular ions. Optimum linearity (r2 = 0.999) was achieved during the plateau time regime, although calibration in the prepeak was also demonstrated, albeit with slightly poorer correlation coefficients (r2 > 0.959). The minimum limits of detection (MDL) were 392, 422, and 557 ng, for toluene, o-xylene, and o-dichlorobenzene, respectively, using a 3-microL injection and a split ratio of 68:1. For the binary alcohol mixture, MDLs of 1.87 and 2.44 microg were determined for methanol and sec-butanol, respectively, based on the intensity of the 16O+ ion during the prepeak and using a split ratio of 58:1.

The mobility and speciation of Pt was investigated in dust deposited in highway tunnels and in gully sediments. For this, a sequential extraction technique was used in combination with a microwave digestion procedure, followed by detection of Pt with high resolution ICP-MS. A digestion procedure using HNO(3)/HCl/H(2)O(2) was developed and its efficiency tested for environmental materials. Total Pt contents ranged from approximately 100 to 300 microg/kg. The high share of chemically mobile Pt in the tunnel dust (up to about 40%) indicates that Pt is predominantly emitted in a mobile form from the converter. The absence of a mobile fraction in the gully sediment is explained by the elution of Pt by run-off. Except for the mobile and easily mobilised fractions none of the other fractions of the sequential extraction contains Pt, neither in the dust samples nor in the gully sediment.