Agilent ICP-MS Journal (October 2012 – Issue 51)

Importance of the Topic

The rapid evolution of inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS), including collision/reaction cell and triple quadrupole (ICP-QQQ) technologies, is driving new capabilities in environmental monitoring, speciation analysis and industrial quality control. Reliable quantification of trace contaminants—such as iodinated contrast media, arsenic species or metal pollutants in complex matrices—is essential to ensure public health, comply with evolving regulations, and advance research in water treatment, materials science and energy applications.

Aims and Overview

This collection of studies from the Agilent ICP-MS Journal (October 2012, Issue 51) presents:

• A method for sub-ppb determination of iopromide in environmental waters using ion chromatography coupled to ICP-MS.
• Implementation of the first US and European installations of the Agilent 8800 Triple Quadrupole ICP-MS, demonstrating enhanced accuracy in complex sample analysis.
• Quantification of inorganic and organic arsenic species in commercial apple juice at low ppt levels via HPLC-ICP-MS.
• A curated list of on-line reference resources for the atomic spectrometry community.

Methodology and Instrumentation

Ion-exchange chromatography and HPLC separations were coupled to quadrupole and triple-quadrupole ICP-MS systems operated in time-resolved analysis and collision/reaction modes. Key methodological features included:

• High matrix introduction (HMI) interfaces to accommodate environmental waters and flue gas desulfurization (FGD) extracts.
• Use of helium collision gas (He) and oxygen or hydrogen reaction gases to remove polyatomic interferences on analyte masses.
• Compound-independent calibration (CIC) for quantification of unknown iodine-containing species by normalizing to the iodine response of iopromide.
• Simple filtration and low-dilution sample preparation for soft drinks, minimizing species interconversion.

Used Instrumentation

• Agilent 7700x Quadrupole ICP-MS with ORS3 collision cell.
• Agilent 8800 Triple Quadrupole ICP-MS (ICP-QQQ) in MS/MS mode.
• Agilent 1260 Infinity LC and Agilent 1200 Infinity LC systems.
• Dionex AG16 guard column and AS16 analytical column for anion exchange separations.
• Peltier-cooled spray chambers and solid-state RF generators for organic solvent analysis.

Key Results and Discussion

• Iopromide in Environmental Waters: The IC-ICP-MS method achieved a method reporting limit of 0.1 ppb in extracts (2 ppt in raw water) with linear calibration over four orders of magnitude. Identification and quantification of other iodine species were enabled via CIC.
• ICP-QQQ Installations: The first US and European 8800 instruments delivered superior interference removal and lower detection limits for challenging elements (As, Se, Cr, S, P) in high-matrix samples (e.g. FGD solvents). Laboratories reported seamless installation and rapid method transfer from existing single-quad systems.
• Arsenic Speciation in Apple Juice: HPLC-ICP-MS separated As(III), As(V), MMA, DMA and arsenobetaine with detection limits in the 10 ppt range. Six commercial juices contained total inorganic arsenic below half of the US EPA drinking water limit.
• Reference Resources: A consolidated list of listservs, online conversion tools, periodic tables, uncertainty quantification guides and key journals supports best practices in plasma spectrochemistry.

Benefits and Practical Applications

• Sub-ppt detection of pharmaceutical residues and disinfection by-product precursors in surface waters.
• Enhanced accuracy in trace element analysis for power-plant effluent, CO2 capture solvent monitoring and environmental proteomics.
• Routine food safety testing for toxic metal species in beverages.
• Streamlined method development and user training due to hardware and software consistency across Agilent ICP-MS platforms.

Future Trends and Possibilities

• Wider adoption of triple quadrupole ICP-MS for speciation and ultra-trace analyses in environmental, biomedical and industrial fields.
• Development of integrative passive and active sampling strategies coupled to ICP-QQQ for spatially and temporally resolved monitoring of hazardous substances.
• Expansion of reaction-gas chemistries (e.g. O2, H2) to improve sensitivity for traditionally difficult elements such as P and S.
• Integration with advanced chromatographic and sample-introduction technologies for real-time field measurements and high-throughput screening.

Conclusion

The presented methods and case studies demonstrate significant advances in analytical performance enabled by coupling separation techniques to modern ICP-MS and ICP-QQQ systems. These developments support regulatory compliance, environmental protection and industrial process optimization by delivering reliable, sensitive and interference-free measurements across a broad range of applications.

References

• Agilent Application Note 5991-1044EN: Determination of iopromide in environmental waters by ion chromatography-ICP-MS.
• Agilent Application Note 5991-0622EN: Arsenic speciation analysis in apple juice using HPLC-ICP-MS.
• Agilent Application Note 5991-0892EN: Direct measurement of trace rare earth elements in high-purity oxide using the 8800 Triple Quadrupole ICP-MS.
• Agilent eHandbook 5990-9473EN: Second Edition of Hyphenated ICP-MS Applications.