Atomic spectrometry update – a review of advances in environmental analysis

Abstract

This is the 29th annual review of the application of atomic spectrometry to the chemical analysis of environmental samples. This Update refers to papers published approximately between September 2012 and July 2013 and continues the series ofAtomic Spectrometry Updates (ASUs) Developments in geochemical analysis included the production and (re)certification of new geological RMs for bulk, isotopic and microspatial analysis. Optimisation of LA-ICP-MS techniques for the interrogation of geochemical samples continues to be reported and a number of useful instrumental review articles (AMS, ICP-MS and SIMS) have been published.Feedback on this review is most welcome and the review coordinator can be contacted using the email address provided. Sampling techniquesThe development of personal workplace air samplers, used to monitor workers' exposure to airborne particles, continues to be a fertile area of research. cartridge assembly which could then be loaded directly into an XRF system for analysis. Initial wind tunnel tests using test aerosols of known particle size indicated that this sampler could collect representative particle size distributions.Generation of test particle atmospheres in a laboratory environment is difficult and it is most informative to see publications describing the development and validation of aerosol test chambers. A system 21 for source characterisation and controlled human exposure to NPs generated during gas-metal arc welding had an airtight 22 m 3 climate-controlled stainless steel chamber at its core. A variety of online measurements, e.g. using TEOM or SMPS, and offline measurements, e.g. using electron microscopy and PIXE techniques, could be made via sampling ports/samplers. Test particles were generated in a separate chamber and subsequently piped into the main chamber. Stable concentrations of atmospheric particles could be maintained for up to 6 h and concentrations could be varied from <5 µg m by EDXRF spectrometry (Cr, Cu, Fe, Ni, Pb and Zn), there were no significant differences in values between the two measurement approaches (paired t-test, p > 0.2, 95 % CI). In summary, the authors concluded that this method was suitable for the high throughput analysis of lightly loaded air filter samples. 11The bioaccessible metal fraction in urban aerosol particles may be a more informative metric than the total metal composition in assessng the potential health effects of exposure to inhaled particles. . Using this optimised method, the airborne levels of Ag in Buenos Aires was determined to be 2-4.5 ng m , respectively. Emission spectroscopyInvestigation into the use of LIBS for the analysis of aerosol samples is a focus of a number of research groups. Elemental emission intensities were normalised to carbon (measured at 247.856 nm) which could be used as an internal standard because the carbon emission from the underlying nylon filter was much larger and relatively more stable than the signal from the deposited carbonaceous particles. This approach was useful for minimising shot-to-...

Determination of Barium Isotopic Ratios in River Water on the Multiple Collector Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometer

“…Previous studies have suggested that the SSB method is susceptible to several experimental and instrumental factors, including the influence of oxides and the effect of isobaric interference, as well as acidity and concentration matches for isotope systems. 26 For the river-water samples, the matrix effects are totally different from those igneous rocks and seawater, so that all potential factors above mentioned were tested in order to obtain accurate and precise Ba isotopic ratios using the SSB method under the exactly same experimental condition on MC-ICP-MS in IEECAS. These tests provided us the optimized determination conditions for the Ba isotopic ratios of river water samples by the SSB method.…”

“…One of the advantages of using the SSB method is that influence of oxides and instrumental mass fractionation on Ba isotopic determination can be canceled out, 27 since there should be the same production rate of oxides and instrumental mass fractionation under a given determination condition between samples and standards. 26 On the contrary, the impurity of the Ar carrier gas could bring Xe into the mass spectrometer, which may pose a potential threat to Ba isotopic determination, since Xe has 130 Xe, 132 Xe, 134 Xe, and 136 Xe four isobaric interferences for 130 Ba, 132 Ba, 134 Ba, and 136 Ba, respectively. In our tests, the monitored signal sensitivity of the second abundant isotope of Xe ( 131 Xe) was less than 0.002 V, so that the 134 Xe signal should theoretically be less than 0.002 V due to its lower abundance than 131 Xe.…”

“…16,22,23 Depending on the isotopes selected for the calibration, the double spike method requires highly pure and expensive spikes as well as intensive operation procedures on both instruments. 25 Alternatively, the SSB method is a simple and reliable one to determine several novel isotopes (including Ba) only on MC-ICP-MS. 24,26,27 Untill now, the developed methods for measuring Ba isotopes have mainly focused on seawater and igneous rocks. 7,9,10,24 However, as one of the major Ba sources to oceans, Ba isotopes in river water were scarcely reported so far, 7 though Ba isotopes (also other isotope systems, i.e.…”

Comparison of Element Concentrations (Ba, Mn, Pb, Sr, Zn) in the Bones and Teeth of Wild Ruminants from the West Carpathians and the Tian-Shan Mountains as Indicators of Air Pollution

“…The samples were analyzed by X-ray fluorescence, using the hand-held XRF Spectrometer DELTA CLASSIC (Innov-X Systems, Inc., Woburn, MA, USA.) [32]. The handheld X-ray fluorescence was already used for scanning the hard tissues including horns, antlers, teeth and bones and it was demonstrated that a handheld XRF is an effective and accurate tool for analytical investigation [33].…”

“Turn-on” and pinhole-free ultrathin core–shell Au@SiO2 nanoparticle-based metal-enhanced fluorescent (MEF) chemodosimeter for Hg2+

“…Generally, these methods are more precise than other methods but have the drawbacks of requiring expensive equipment and a time-consuming analysis process. 12,13…”