Nebulization of the Sample

FIGURE 10-12. Perkin-Elmer atomic absorption sample cell showing nebulizing chamber and burner. [Courtesy the Perkin-Elmer Corp.] 

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More recent determinations of serum iron have been reported by Schmidt 57), who simply diluted with lanthanum chloride solution, and by Tavenier and Hellen-doorn58), who deproteinized samples in the latter study, iron in the protein precipitate is analyzed to correct the serum iron level. Uny etal. 59) determined serum iron, using ultrasonic nebulization of the sample to increase the sensitivity. Olson and Hamlin 6°) have determined serum iron and total iron-binding capacity. Proteins are precipitated and iron (III) is released by heating with trichloroacetic acid. 

Q. How does the venturi effect contribute to the nebulization of the sample ... 

Mercury may be introduced into the plasma torch by nebulization of the sample, by CV technique, or by GF. By direct pneumatic nebulization of acidified (0.5 % HAc) urine samples into an ICP torch, Lo and Arai (1989) analyzed mercury simultaneously with 10 other metals. The detection limit was 20 fig/L. An improvement in the detection limits for some other metals by a factor of 10 20 by use of an ultrasonic nebulizer has recently been reported (Johnson et al., 1989), and should also be true for mercury. 

The nebulization concept has been known for many years and is commonly used in hair and paint spays and similar devices. Greater control is needed to introduce a sample to an ICP instrument. For example, if the highest sensitivities of detection are to be maintained, most of the sample solution should enter the flame and not be lost beforehand. The range of droplet sizes should be as small as possible, preferably on the order of a few micrometers in diameter. Large droplets contain a lot of solvent that, if evaporated inside the plasma itself, leads to instability in the flame, with concomitant variations in instrument sensitivity. Sometimes the flame can even be snuffed out by the amount of solvent present because of interference with the basic mechanism of flame propagation. For these reasons, nebulizers for use in ICP mass spectrometry usually combine a means of desolvating the initial spray of droplets so that they shrink to a smaller, more uniform size or sometimes even into small particles of solid matter (particulates). 

Finally, in yet another variant, the sample liquid stream and the gas flow are brought together at a shaped nozzle into which the liquid flows (parallel-path nebulizer). Again, the intersection of liquid film and gas flow leads to the formation of an aerosol. Obstruction of the sample flow by formation of deposits is not a problem, and the devices are easily constructed from plastics, making them robust and cheap. 

The preparation of aqueous solutions from solids is usually performed after the sample has been ground to a powder of uniform size. Sometimes, samples can be only sparingly soluble in water and therefore organic solvents may be used to dissolve the sample. Organic solvents can increase the sensitivities of atomic spectrometric analyses as a result of increases in the efficiencies of the nebulization of the analyte solutions. When organic solvents are used to dissolve samples non-selective ligands should be added to complex ionic species that would otherwise be insoluble in the organic solvent. 

The digestion of solid samples to produce a solution is discussed in Section 13.2. For solution-based ICP MS analysis, the liquid is taken up through a thin tube via a peristaltic pump. This feeds directly into the instrument nebulizer, where argon gas is introduced into the liquid and a fine mist of droplets is expelled from the tip of the nebulizer. This sample aerosol is sprayed into the condenser to reduce the size of the droplets, ensuring an even sample loading and preventing cooling of the plasma. About 1% of the sample solution uptake is transported to the plasma torch, and any unused solution is drained away and may be recycled. 

Nebulization is inefficient and therefore not appropriate for very small liquid samples. Introducing samples into the plasma in liquid form reduces the potential sensitivity because the analyte flux is limited by the amount of solvent that the plasma will tolerate. To circumvent these problems a variety of thermal and electrothermal vaporization devices have been investigated. Two basic approaches are in use. The first involves indirect vaporization of the sample in an electrothermal vaporizer, e.g. a carbon rod or tube furnace or heated metal filament as commonly used in atomic absorption spectrometry [7-9], The second involves inserting the sample into the base of the... 

The use of suppressors in ion chromatography of quaternary ammonium compounds can be of advantage. These are ion exchange membranes that introduce hydroxide ions instead of the counterion present in the analyte. This simplifies the mixture and enhances the electrolytic conductivity of the sample. The effluent of the suppressor may be nebulized and subjected to field-assisted evaporation, yielding a cloud of ions suspended in the gas phase, which can be introduced into an MS analyzer designed for work at atmospheric pressure. Both the molecular weight and the structure of the quaternary cations can be determined by this method419. 

Q. In the type of nebulizer described, where does most of the sample go ... 

Adjusting the nebulizer. Measure the sample uptake rate using a 10 ml measuring cylinder and stop-watch. Report the result in ml min-i Compare this with your previous reading. Note that the sample uptake rate and flame conditions are interdependent and that adjusting one will require re-optimization of the other. Therefore, do not adjust the sample uptake rate once the fuel/air ratio has been optimized. 

From the sample solution to be analyzed, small droplets are formed by the nebulization of the solution using an appropriate concentric or cross-flow pneumatic nebulizer/spray chamber system. Quite different solution introduction systems have been created for the appropriate generation of an aerosol from a liquid sample and for separation of large size droplets. Such an arrangement provides an efficiency of the analyte introduction in the plasma of 1-3 % only.6 The rest (97 % to 99%) goes down in the drain.7 Beside the conventional Meinhard nebulizer, together with cooled or non-cooled Scott spray chamber or conical spray chamber, several types of micronebulizers together with cyclonic spray chambers are employed for routine measurements in ICP-MS laboratories. The solvent evaporated from each droplet forms a particle which is vaporized into atoms and molecules... 

Most flame spectrometers use a premix burner, such as that in Figure 21-5, in which fuel, oxidant, and sample are mixed before introduction into the flame. Sample solution is drawn into the pneumatic nebulizer by the rapid flow of oxidant (usually air) past the tip of the sample capillary. Liquid breaks into a fine mist as it leaves the capillary. The spray is directed against a glass bead, upon which the droplets break into smaller particles. The formation of small droplets is termed nebulization. A fine suspension of liquid (or solid) particles in a gas is called an aerosol. The nebulizer creates an aerosol from the liquid sample. The mist, oxi-... 

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