Standardization mass spectrometry

Standard Test Method for Determination of Impurities in Uranium Dioxide by Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry Standard Test Method for Gamma Energy Emission from Fission Products in Uranium Hexafluoride... 

By high-resolution mass spectrometry, ions of known mass from a standard substance can be separated from ions of unknown mass derived from a sample substance. By measuring the unknown mass relative to the known ones through interpolation or peak matching, the unknown can be measured. An accurate mass can be used to obtain an elemental composition for an ion. If the latter is the molecular ion, the composition is the molecular formula. 

The upper part of the figure illustrates why the small difference in mass between an ion and its neutral molecule is ignored for the purposes of mass spectrometry. In mass measurement, has been assigned arbitrarily to have a mass of 12.00000, All other atomic masses are referred to this standard. In the lower part of the figure, there is a small selection of elements with their naturally occurring isotopes and their natural abundances. At one extreme, xenon has nine naturally occurring isotopes, whereas, at the other, some elements such as fluorine have only one. 

Standard El spectra are obtained with an electron energy of 70 eV (electrons accelerated through 70 V). For most compounds, it is easier to produce positive ions than negative ones, and most El mass spectrometry is concerned with positive ions. 

Gold is a useflil caUbration standard for this method (see Radioactive tracers). Whereas similar sensitivities can be achieved by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (qv), the latter requires more extensive sample preparation to overcome interference by other metals such as copper (64). 

Quantitative mass spectrometry, also used for pharmaceutical appHcations, involves the use of isotopicaHy labeled internal standards for method calibration and the calculation of percent recoveries (9). Maximum sensitivity is obtained when the mass spectrometer is set to monitor only a few ions, which are characteristic of the target compounds to be quantified, a procedure known as the selected ion monitoring mode (sim). When chlorinated species are to be detected, then two ions from the isotopic envelope can be monitored, and confirmation of the target compound can be based not only on the gc retention time and the mass, but on the ratio of the two ion abundances being close to the theoretically expected value. The spectrometer cycles through the ions in the shortest possible time. This avoids compromising the chromatographic resolution of the gc, because even after extraction the sample contains many compounds in addition to the analyte. To increase sensitivity, some methods use sample concentration techniques. 

Electron impact mass spectrometry has been employed to study the fragmentation patterns of isoxazolylmethyl- and bis(isoxazolylmethyl)-isoxazoles and the results are in agreement with proposed pathways (79AC(R)8l). Electron impact studies of nitrostyryl isoxazole (6) show fragmentation in a variety of ways. The standard loss of NO2 from the molecular ion... 

The complex of the following destmctive and nondestmctive analytical methods was used for studying the composition of sponges inductively coupled plasma mass-spectrometry (ICP-MS), X-ray fluorescence (XRF), electron probe microanalysis (EPMA), and atomic absorption spectrometry (AAS). Techniques of sample preparation were developed for each method and their metrological characteristics were defined. Relative standard deviations for all the elements did not exceed 0.25 within detection limit. The accuracy of techniques elaborated was checked with the method of additions and control methods of analysis. 

Laser based mass spectrometric methods, such as laser ionization (LIMS) and laser ablation in combination with inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) are powerful analytical techniques for survey analysis of solid substances. To realize the analytical performances methods for the direct trace analysis of synthetic and natural crystals modification of a traditional analytical technique was necessary and suitable standard reference materials (SRM) were required. Recent developments allowed extending the range of analytical applications of LIMS and LA-ICP-MS will be presented and discussed. For example ... 

In Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry (SIMS), a solid specimen, placed in a vacuum, is bombarded with a narrow beam of ions, called primary ions, that are suffi-ciendy energedc to cause ejection (sputtering) of atoms and small clusters of atoms from the bombarded region. Some of the atoms and atomic clusters are ejected as ions, called secondary ions. The secondary ions are subsequently accelerated into a mass spectrometer, where they are separated according to their mass-to-charge ratio and counted. The relative quantities of the measured secondary ions are converted to concentrations, by comparison with standards, to reveal the composition and trace impurity content of the specimen as a function of sputtering dme (depth). 

In Laser Ionization Mass Spectrometry (LIMS, also LAMMA, LAMMS, and LIMA), a vacuum-compatible solid sample is irradiated with short pulses ("10 ns) of ultraviolet laser light. The laser pulse vaporizes a microvolume of material, and a fraction of the vaporized species are ionized and accelerated into a time-of-flight mass spectrometer which measures the signal intensity of the mass-separated ions. The instrument acquires a complete mass spectrum, typically covering the range 0— 250 atomic mass units (amu), with each laser pulse. A survey analysis of the material is performed in this way. The relative intensities of the signals can be converted to concentrations with the use of appropriate standards, and quantitative or semi-quantitative analyses are possible with the use of such standards. 

ASTM El078, Standard guide for procedures for specimen preparation, mounting, and analysis in auger electron spectroscopy. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and secondary ion mass spectrometry. ASTM, West Conshohocken, PA. 

Mizutani and coworkers57a confirmed the presence of polychloro(methylsulfonyl)biphenyls (159-170) as sulfur-containing metabolites of chlorobiphenyls (Cl-BP) in the feces of mice based on both GLC-mass spectrometry and chemical derivatization. In some cases comparison with authentic samples (161 and 162) was also made. When preparing 161 and 162,2,5-dichloro-3-(methylsulfonyl)aniline, 2,5-dichloro-l-iodo-3-(methylsulfonyl)benzene and 2,2, 5,5 -tetrachloro-3,3 -bis(methyl-sulfonyl)biphenyl were also obtained and their four peak El mass spectra reported572. Similar data were given for the corresponding 4-substituted intermediates, which were involved in the preparation of 162. Also 2,4, 5-trichloro-2 -(methylsulfonyl)-biphenyl was prepared and its four peak mass spectra given. Metabolites 163 and 164 were also identified by comparison with the authentic standards. 

The amounts of the standard isotopic species and the tracer isotopic species are represented by X and X for the sample and the reference material. The reference substance is chosen arbitrarily, but is a substance that is homogeneous, available in reasonably large amounts, and measurable using standard analytical techniques for measuring isotopes (generally mass spectrometry). For instance, a sample of ocean water known as Standard Mean Ocean Water (SMOW) is used as a reference for and 0. Calcium carbonate from the Peedee sedimentary formation in North Carolina, USA (PDB) is used for C. More information about using carbon isotopes is presented in Chapter 11. 

Quantitation using mass spectrometry is no different to quantitation using other techniques and, as discussed above in Section 2.5, involves the comparison of the intensity of a signal generated by an analyte in a sample to be determined with that obtained from standards containing known amounts/concentrations of that analyte. 

Adequate precision and accuracy are only likely to be achieved if some standardization procedure is employed and the nature of this, internal or external standards or the method of standard additions, needs to be chosen carefully. If internal standardization procedures are adopted then appropriate compound(s) must be chosen and their effect on the chromatographic and mass spectrometry methods assessed. The ideal internal standard is an isotopically labelled analogue of the analyte but, although there are a number of commercial companies who produce a range of such molecules, these are not always readily available. An analytical laboratory is then faced with the choice of carrying out the synthesis of the internal standard themselves or choosing a less appropriate alternative with implications on the accuracy and precision of the method to be developed. 

Figure 5.66 Molecular structures of Idoxifene and its deutrated internal standard ds-Idoxifene. Reprinted from J. Chromatogr., B, 757, Comparison between liqnid chromatography-time-of-flightmass spectrometry and selected-reaction monitoring liqnid chromatography-mass spectrometry for qnantitative determination of Idoxifene in hnman plasma , Zhang, H. and Henion, I., 151-159, Copyright (2001), with permission from Elsevier Science.

ECD = electron capture detector GC = gas chromatography HPLC = high-performance liquid chromatography MC = microcoulometric detector MS = mass spectrometry NICI = negative ion chemical ionization RSD = relative standard deviation SPE = solid phase extraction... 

Mass Spectrometry. The mass spectra were obtained on a CEC 21-llOB mass spectrometer with the batch inlet system maintained at 250°C to assure complete vaporization of the samples. Sensitivity factors for quantitative analysis were obtained from standards of di-, tetra-, hexa-, and octa-chlorodibenzo-p-dioxin. The factors for the intermediate chlorinated species were estimated by interpolation. The analyses were based... 

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