Inductively coupled plasma mass isotopic tracer techniques

Inductively coupled plasma—mass spectrometry (referred to in this book as ICP-MS), a technique for the elemental chemical characterization of virtually any material, evolved during the late 1990s into a mature analytical procedure. This technique has a variety of characteristics that make it uniquely suited for the solution of chemical analysis problems in many applications. These characteristics include the abihty to precisely identify and measure (quantitate) all elements in the periodic table including the often difficult to analyze refractory elements. In addition to this wide scope of elemental analysis, the technique has the inherent capabihty to perform these determinations in a multielement analysis mode, efficiendy providing comprehensive elemental compositional characterization. The technique also has the powerful ability to measure individual isotopes of the analyte elements, providing a capability that has many useful apphcations ranging from isotope dilution quantitation to stable isotope tracer studies. 

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