ABSTRACT
So, you have convinced your boss that inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) is perfect for your laboratory. Hopefully, the chapters on fundamental principles have given you the basic knowledge and a good platform on which to go out and evaluate the marketplace. However, they do not really give you an insight on how to compare instrument designs, hardware components, and software features, which are of critical importance when you have to make a decision as to which instrument to purchase. There are a number of commercial systems available in the marketplace, which look very similar and have very similar specifications, but how do you know which is the best one that fits your needs? This section will attempt to present a set of evaluation guidelines to help you decide on the most important figures of merit for your application. However, to get the most out of this chapter, it should be used in conjunction with other chapters of this book.
