Quantitation of trace metals in liquid samples by dried-droplet laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry

A new, discrete sample introduction approach based on laser ablation (LA) is described for the quantitation of several trace metals in aqueous samples by ICPMS. Dried microdroplets of sample, previously mixed with a sodium acetate matrix, were quantitatively ablated from a polystyrene substrate. Calibration via the method of standard additions or isotope dilution provided accurate results for Ni, Cd, and Ph in drinking water and Se in a yeast extract. Compared to conventional solution nebulization, LA sample introduction provided a 2-7-fold enhancement in absolute sensitivity and transport efficiency of 2 - 14% for the elements examined. Estimated detection limits are 1-7-fold poorer for the dried-droplet LA technique, primarily a result of degraded precision arising from counting statistics limitations for discrete sample introduction. On the basis of the several-second half-width of the resulting transient signals, sample throughput can be in the range of 250 samples per hour. Additionally, integration of the transient signal should eliminate contributions to elemental fractionation from the LA step. Dried-droplet LA-ICPMS offers several advantages over its counterpart, ETV-ICPMS, with respect to background intensity, throughput, and ease of desorption.