ICP-MS: inductively coupled plasma – mass spectrometry

Introduced commercially in 1983, ICP-MS (Inductively Coupled Plasma-Mass Spectrometry), an elemental quantification technique based on the mass spectrometric analysis of ions generated by an inductively coupled plasma, is now an integral part of many laboratories' analytical equipment. In addition to providing detection limits of the order of ng/L in dissolved phase and μg/kg in solid phase, this analytical technique is also the only one in atomic spectrometry capable of providing isotopic information.

While the ionization of elements is always based on the introduction of the sample into a noble gas plasma, i.e. an ionized but overall electrically neutral gas characterized by the presence of free electrons, various types of mass spectrometer can be used. These currently include the quadrupole filter, magnetic and electrostatic sectors, time-of-flight and, much more rarely, the ion trap.

The various operating principles, analytical performance and market status are described in this article.