Accurate Abundance Ratios

One method for measuring the temperature of the sea is to measure this ratio. Of course, if you were to do it now, you would take a thermometer and not a mass spectrometer. But how do you determine the temperature of the sea as it was 10,000 years ago The answer lies with tiny sea creatures called diatoms. These have shells made from calcium carbonate, itself derived from carbon dioxide in sea water. As the diatoms die, they fall to the sea floor and build a sediment of calcium carbonate. If a sample is taken from a layer of sediment 10,000 years old, the carbon dioxide can be released by addition of acid. If this carbon dioxide is put into a suitable mass spectrometer, the ratio of carbon isotopes can be measured accurately. From this value and the graph of solubilities of isotopic forms of carbon dioxide with temperature (Figure 46.5), a temperature can be extrapolated. This is the temperature of the sea during the time the diatoms were alive. To conduct such experiments in a significant manner, it is essential that the isotope abundance ratios be measured very accurately. 

Does the [a/Fe] Abundance Ratio Trend Reverse at Super-Solar Regime A Test on the Role of Accurate Knowledge of Atmospheric Parameters... 

The masses of isotopes can be measured with accuracies better than parts per billion (ppb), e.g., m40Ar = 39.9623831235 0.000000005 u. Unfortunately, determinations of abundance ratios are less accurate, causing errors of several parts per million (ppm) in relative atomic mass. The real limiting factor, however, comes from the variation of isotopic abundances from natural samples, e.g., in case of lead which is the final product of radioactive decay of uranium, the atomic weight varies by 500 ppm depending on the Pb/U ratios in the lead ore. [8]... 

IDMS will only give accurate results if the measured isotopic abundance ratio is accurate. Hence it is essential to check both isotopes for isobaric or other isotopic interferences. Other effects due to the sample matrix or the instrument, should be evaluated. 

In ID, the natural isotopic abundance ratio of Cd is altered in the sample by spiking it with an exact and known amount of Cd-emiched isotope (the so-called spike , with a different isotopic abvmdance ratio than natural cadmium). The reference isotope is usually the isotope of highest natural abundance ( " Cd), while the spike isotope is one of the lesser abundant natural isotopes (normally Cd, Cd, or Cd). As a result of the spiking process, the measurement by ICP-MS of the new isotope ratio (e.g., " Cd/ Cd) and its comparison with the natural isotope ratio offers the original Cd concentration in the sample. If the isotope dilution is performed online in an LC- or CZE-ICP-MS experiment, quantification of Cd in each of the isolated species can be accurately achieved by integration of each chromatographic/electrophore-tic peak after transformation of the data into mass flow by means of the ID equation. 

Several important observations of the abundances of the C varieties of molecules In diffuse clouds have recently become available. Hawkins and Jura (1987) determined accurate CH+Z CH" " column density ratios for 4 lines of sight. The inferred ratio (43 4) was found to be remarkably uniform in the different directions, and is a factor of two lower than the terrestrial isotope ratio of 89. If CH" " is indeed formed in a warm region without fractionation, the measured CH / CH ratio should be directly representative of the [ C)/[ C] abundance ratio of carbon in all forms in the interstellar medium. 

The ion current resulting from collection of the mass-separated ions provides a measure of the numbers of ions at each m/z value (the ion abundances). Note that for this ionization method, all ions have only a single positive charge, z = 1, so that m/z = m, which means that masses are obtained directly from the measured m/z values. Thus, after the thermal ionization process, m/z values and abundances of ions are measured. The accurate measurement of relative ion abundances provides highly accurate isotope ratios. This aspect is developed more fully below. 

Figure 7.9 shows a schematic representation of this effect, in which the ratio of the two isotopes changes with time. To obtain an accurate estimate of the ratio of ion abundances, it is better if the relative ion yields decrease linearly (Figure 7.9) which can be achieved by adjusting the filament temperature continuously to obtain the desired linear response. An almost constant response for the isotope ratio can be obtained by slow evaporation of the sample, viz., by keeping the filament temperature as low as is consistent with sufficient sensitivity of detection (Figure 7.9). 

The previous discussion has centered on how to obtain as much molecular mass and chemical structure information as possible from a given sample. However, there are many uses of mass spectrometry where precise isotope ratios are needed and total molecular mass information is unimportant. For accurate measurement of isotope ratio, the sample can be vaporized and then directed into a plasma torch. The sample can be a gas or a solution that is vaporized to form an aerosol, or it can be a solid that is vaporized to an aerosol by laser ablation. Whatever method is used to vaporize the sample, it is then swept into the flame of a plasma torch. Operating at temperatures of about 5000 K and containing large numbers of gas ions and electrons, the plasma completely fragments all substances into ionized atoms within a few milliseconds. The ionized atoms are then passed into a mass analyzer for measurement of their atomic mass and abundance of isotopes. Even intractable substances such as glass, ceramics, rock, and bone can be examined directly by this technique. 

Ionization Method Type of Molecular Ion Formed Good Molecular Mass Information Abundant Fragment Ions MS/MS Needed for Structural Information Accurate Values for Isotope Ratios... 

This accurate measurement of the ratio of abundances of isotopes is used for geological dating, estimation of the ages of antiquities, testing athletes for the use of banned steroids, examining fine details of chemical reaction pathways, and so on. These uses are discussed in this book under various headings concerned with isotope ratio mass spectrometry (see Chapters 7, 14, 15, 16, 17, 47, and 48). 

Isotopes of an element are formed by the protons in its nucleus combining with various numbers of neutrons. Most natural isotopes are not radioactive, and the approximate pattern of peaks they give in a mass spectrum can be used to identify the presence of many elements. The ratio of abundances of isotopes for any one element, when measured accurately, can be used for a variety of analytical purposes, such as dating geological samples or gaining insights into chemical reaction mechanisms. 

Almost any type of analyzer could be used to separate isotopes, so their ratios of abundances can be measured. In practice, the type of analyzer employed will depend on the resolution needed to differentiate among a range of isotopes. When the isotopes are locked into multielement ions, it becomes difficult to separate all of the possible isotopes. For example, an ion of composition CgHijOj will actually consist of many compositions if all of the isotopes ( C, C, H, H, 0, O, and 0) are considered. To resolve all of these isotopic compositions before measurement of their abundances is difficult. For low-molecular-mass ions (HjO, COj) or for atomic ions (Ca, Cl), the problems are not so severe. Therefore, most accurate isotope ratio measurements are made on low-molecular-mass species, and resolution of these even with simple analyzers is not difficult. The most widely used analyzers are based on magnets, quadrupoles, ion traps, and time-of-flight instruments. 

Heating inorganic substances to a high temperature on a metal filament yields characteristic positive ions that can be mass analyzed for m/z value and abundance to obtain accurate isotope ratios. 

The m/z values of the ions provide identification of the elements present, and the abundances of the ions provide accurate isotope ratios. 

Gases and volatile materials can be swept into the center of an argon plasma flame, where they are fragmented into ions of their constituent elements. The m/z values of ions give important information for identification of the elemental composition of a sample, and precise measurement of ion abundances is used to provide accurate isotope ratios. 

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