Strategies for trace metal quantification in polymer samples with an unknown matrix using Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy

Metal acetylacetonates dissolved in UV-curing resin as solid reference material for trace element measurements in organic samples

“…35 Brunnbauer et al reported the same effects within the analysis of polymer samples. 19 These deviations are often reported within the application of laser induced breakdown spectroscopy. Most common reasons are variations due to homogeneity issues and plasma fluctuations such as varying temperatures and electron densities in the plasma despite using the same experimental conditions, which leads to the ablation of different amounts of sample with each shot.…”

“…To compensate these fluctuations, either univariate calibration models are applied after normalisation or rather standardisation or multivariate calibration models are used. 19,26,35,36…”

“…37 Brunnbauer et al used this method to be able to categorise polymer samples by evaluation of the obtained spectra. 19 Since only one element was analysed in our lacquer layers (system c ), an univariate calibration was performed. Unlike other elements, iron possesses a high density of emission lines.…”

Atomic spectrometry update: review of advances in atomic spectrometry and related techniques

“…This methodology improved on the standard pre-processing used by the Mars Science Lab, and eliminated the requirement for dark current measures, instrument response function availability and side environment information such as temperature and emitter-to-target range automatic adjustments. Different approaches for the quantification of K in unknown polymers were investigated by Brunnbauer et al 139 Two different multivariate approaches, random decision forest classification combined with conventional univariate calibration and a PLS model, were used for calibration for 8 different polymer samples. The authors claimed that using their approach it was possible to determine K in the low μg g −1 range in unknown polymer types, with a relative error typically between 30% and 90%, which is a significant improvement compared to non-matrix-matched quantification.…”

Recent Trends in Biosensors for Environmental Quality Monitoring

“…Researchers are interested in finding durable solutions to environmental monitoring, as the control of toxic substances is a fundamental condition for pollution remediation. Usually, the classical chromatographic [3][4][5] and spectroscopic [6][7][8][9] methods are used to detect contaminants, which are generally characterized by high sensibility and selectiveness. However, these methods are laborious, need several sample preparation steps, use toxic chemicals, and are time-consuming; and the equipment needs well-qualified operators.…”