News from LabRulezICPMS Library - Week 27, 2025

Our Library never stops expanding. What are the most recent contributions to LabRulezICPMS Library in the week of 30th June 2025? Check out new documents from the field of spectroscopy/spectrometry and related techniques!

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This week we bring you posters by Agilent Technologies / ASMS and Thermo Fisher Scientific / ASMS!

1. Agilent Technologies / ASMS: Measurement of Metals in Tissue Samples Using Laser Ablation-ICP-MS and an Organic Matrix-Based Standard

• Poster
• Full PDF for download

Laser Ablation-Inductively Coupled Plasma-Mass Spectroscopy (LA-ICP-MS) can provide localization information of elements on solid samples. Therefore, bioimaging techniques using LA-ICP-MS have been developed to investigate the distribution of metals on thin sections. 

Primary biliary cholangitis (PBC) is an autoimmune disorder that primarily targets the interlobular bile ducts. The resulting bile duct damage causes chronic cholestasis in the liver, which can eventually progress to cirrhosis. It is well-established that individuals with PBC exhibit impaired copper (Cu) excretion, leading to Cu accumulation within the liver. 

Pathologists have employed orcein or Victoria blue staining to visualize Cu deposition in pathological specimens. 1 Orcein staining is commonly used to assess the stage of PBC. However, both staining methods measure Cu levels indirectly by detecting Cu-binding proteins, which introduces significant variability in measurement accuracy across different facilities and yields relatively low detection sensitivity. 

The aim of the study was to directly quantify Cu in PBC specimen using LA-ICP-MS, a highly sensitive technique, and compare the results with that obtained from normal-looking tissue in liver. The elemental concentrations were determined from external calibration curves generated using an organic matrix-based standard (Solid scaleTM, FUJIFILM Wako Chemicals). 

Conclusions

This study demonstrates the high performance of the Agilent 8900 ICP-QQQ equipped with an ESL 213 laser ablation system for bioimaging human liver specimens. 

• An organic matrix-based standard (Solid scaleTM ) provided quantitative results of metals in human liver specimens. 
• Patterns of metal distribution (24Mg, 31P, 44Ca, 56Fe, 63Cu, 95Mo) in human liver showed accumulation of Cu in a PBC specimen and its unique localization pattern along the regenerative nodule. 

These results demonstrate that determining metal concentrations in thin sections using LA-ICP-MS provides valuable insights into the mechanisms of PBC and other metal-related diseases.

2. Thermo Fisher Scientific / ASMS: Trace metals analysis in baby food using triple quadrupole inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (TQ-ICP-MS)

• Poster
• Full PDF for download

Many countries have established their own regulations and guidelines to ensure the safety and quality of baby food products. These regulations are generally based on scientific research and risk assessments conducted by health and food safety authorities. Among a range of other contaminants, toxic heavy metals, such as lead, arsenic, cadmium, and mercury, are subject to screening. 

The Baby Food Safety Act of 2021 requires manufacturers and the FDA to take long overdue action by setting maximum levels of inorganic arsenic (10 μg∙kg-1, 15 μg∙kg-1 for cereal), lead (5 μg∙kg-1, 10 μg∙kg-1 for cereal), cadmium (5 μg∙kg-1, 10 μg∙kg-1 for cereal), and mercury (2 μg∙kg-1) allowed in baby food. 

Since January 2022, baby food manufacturers need to meet these maximum levels for toxic elements by testing their final products (because only ingredient testing significantly underestimates toxic heavy metal levels in the final product), and to post the results of their product testing online twice per year. Similarly, as the FDA is working on a “closer to zero plan”, the European Union has established regulations and maximum limits for various contaminants, including toxic elements, in baby food. ICP-MS (inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry) is the commonly used analytical technique to measure trace elements in various samples, including baby food. The specific trace elements to be checked by ICP-MS in baby food may vary depending on the purpose of the analysis and the specific concerns related to the safety and quality of the product.

Materials and methods 

Instrumentation 

A Thermo Scientific iCAP MTX ICP-MS and a Thermo Scientific iSC-65 Autosampler were used for analysis. The ICP-MS was operated using the parameters highlighted in Table 1. To facilitate the robustness to analyze a high number of potentially very different sample types, the instrument was operated using argon gas dilution (AGD), applying a mild (approximately 5 times) dilution to all samples. This ensures the productivity and uptime requirements in a high productivity laboratory environment can be met. To meet the stringent detection limit requirements put in place by regulatory authorities, the iCAP MTX ICP-MS was operated in SQ-KED and TQ-O2 modes to confidently eliminate all polyatomic and isobaric interferences but also deliver the sensitivity needed to reach the requested quantification limits for the critical elements.

Results 

Table 3 summarizes the analytical figures of merit for all analytes including the correlation coefficients, the limits of quantification, and the quantification limits of the method (MLOQ). Whereas the limit of quantification (LOQ) only considers what can be quantified by the instrument, the method quantification limit (MLOQ) also accounts for the complete sample preparation, i.e., the sample weight and the dilution factor. Specifically highlighted in the table are the results obtained for As, Cd, Hg, and Pb, elements which are of specific regulatory concern due to their toxicity and risk for bioaccumulation. As can be seen, the achieved MLOQs are at least a factor two lower compared to the nominal limits specified in EAM 4.7.

Conclusions 

This workflow, combining sample preparation using microwave assisted digestion and analysis using the iCAP MTX ICP-MS, allows accurate measurement of the concentration of toxic elements, dangerous for children, as well as the essential elements, necessary for the good growth and health of children, in various baby food products. 

• The automatic and constant 5-times dilution allows robust analysis of different types of baby food products, whether dry, liquid, or fatty, without any compromise on sensitivity to reach the regulated limits. 
• The stability of the iCAP MTX ICP-MS allows a large variety of different food samples can be analyzed in the same run, ensuring productivity in an applied testing laboratory. 
• All types of interferences (polyatomic as well as isobaric interference, including doubly charged ions) are effectively suppressed with either helium collision gas or by using oxygen as a reactive gas in triple quadrupole mode. 
• Qtegra ISDS Software with the Reaction Finder functionality, allows simplified handling for the operator by automatically defining the isotopes and the acquisition modes to obtain reliable results. 
• The maintenance assistant also ensures alerts to the user when actions need to be carried out by the operator to guarantee an instrument with best performance throughout instrument lifetime.