Laser vaporization inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry: a technique for the analysis of small volumes of solutions

The laser vaporization process was demonstrated to be a suitable technique for introducing solutions into the inductively coupled plasma (ICP), similar to the introduction of solids using a laser ablation process. The technique was found to have several advantages over the conventional nebulization method of sampling into the ICP, e.g., a large dynamic range of concentrations that can be analysed (5 ng ml–1–mg ml–1), small sample volumes required for an analysis (200 µl) and no collection of drain solution. Details of the technique, optimization of the different experimental parameters and its utility as an analytical tool are described. Analysis of a National Institute of Standards and Technology Standard Reference Material NIST SRM 1606 Stainless Steel for a number of elements showed good agreement with certified values with relative standard deviations in the range 2–8%. Suppression of the analyte signal due to matrix effects is also discussed.