Multielement Determination of Trace Elements in Sediment Sample by Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry with Microsampling Technique

A discrete microsampling technique for multielement determination of trace elements by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry has been investigated for analyses of samples containing large amounts of matrix elements. In the technique, 100 μl of the sample solution was introduced into the plasma by using a six-way valve, and 10 elements were detected in peak hopping mode during a single mass range scan. As a result, a transient peak profile of the signal for each element was observed at each m/z position. The peak area measurement method was established for the quantitative analysis. The optimization of instrumental conditions and matrix effects in multielement determination were investigated in detail. The discrete microsampling technique was found to reduce some memory effects due to matrices in ICP-MS. The present system was applied to the analyses of standard sediment sample and 30 elements at the μg g−1 level were successfully determined without matrix separation.