Direct-liquid-introduction interface advantages

Seven different LC-MS interfaces are described in Chapter 4, with particular emphasis being placed on their advantages and disadvantages and the ways in which the interface overcomes (or fails to overcome) the incompatibilities of the two techniques. The earlier interfaces are included for historical reasons only as, for example, the moving-belt and direct-liquid-introduction interfaces, are not currently in routine use. The final chapter (Chapter 5) is devoted to a number of illustrative examples of the way in which LC-MS has been used to solve various analytical problems. 

More recently, Montaser and co-workers have developed a new low cost DIN called the direct injection high etficiency nebuliser (DIHEN). The DIHEN is entirely made of glass and is similar in construction to a HEN, but it is longer. The main advantages provided by the DIHEN with respect to other conventional liquid sample introduction systems for ICP-MS are higher sensitivities, better signal stability and lower limits of detection. The dead volume of the DIHEN can be made lower than 10 nL, which significantly reduces the wash-out times for elements such as iodine, mercury and boron. As a result, this nebuliser has also proven to be suitable as an interface between separation techniques and ICP-MS. " Note that in these later studies, with a modified low dead volume DIHEN, the liquid flow rate can be lowered down to 0.5 pL/min. 

---