Why couple GC to ICP-MS?
Notwithstanding the possibilities of capillary gas chromatography coupled to atomic emission detection (CGC/AED) for metal speciation, there are a number of features that make the hyphenation CGC/ ICP-MS unique. State-of-the-art ICP-MS instrumentation provides sensitivities that no other technique can offer and allows multi-element detection in a single run. Moreover, the argon (Ar) plasma is more stable than the helium (He) microwave-induced plasma in AED, and solvent venting in CGC/ICP-MS becomes redundant. In addition, ICP-MS offers isotopic information of the elements of interest, allowing even isotope dilution techniques as calibration method. Typical operating conditions for both instruments are summarized in Table I. The coupling1-3 is schematically outlined in Figure 1. Table I. Operating parameters of CGC/ICP-MS All parameters such as make-up gas flow rate, torch box position, and lens settings can be easily optimized through the software by measuring a continuous xenon (Xe) s
