Mass spectrometry with plasma sources at atmospheric pressure--state-of-the-art and some developmental trends

The state-of-the art and trends of development in ICP-MS are presented. Special reference is made to progress in plasma sources, which can be used as ion sources and, especially, the inductively coupled plasma and new microwave plasma sources. Further, progress in sample introduction for plasma mass spectrometry is discussed with special reference to new pneumatic nebulizers, enabling, e.g., work with microflows of solutions at high efficiency, new developments in ultrasonic nebulization, in electrothermal evaporation, laser ablation and hydride generation. Innovation in the types of mass spectrometers used is discussed with special reference to the use of reaction and collision cells, sector field mass spectrometry, time-of-flight mass spectrometry and multicollector mass spectrometers. Challenging applications in the field of speciation, especially in environmental samples with the example of the chromium speciation, and in materials analysis, with special reference to the analysis of ceramic powders with and without on-line matrix removal, are also discussed.