ABSTRACT
The detection capability for some elements using traditional quadrupole mass analyzer technology is severely compromised because of the formation of polyatomic spectral interferences generated by a combination of argon, solvent, and matrix-derived ions. However, a novel approach using collision/reaction cell (CRC) and collision/reaction interface technology has been developed that significantly reduces the formation of many of these harmful species before they enter the mass analyzer. With all CRCs, ions enter the interface in the normal manner, and then are directed into a CRC positioned prior to the analyzer quadrupole. The collisional mechanisms approach was adapted from collision-induced dissociation technology, which was first used in the early to mid-1990s in the study of organic molecules using tandem mass spectrometry. By a number of different reaction mechanisms, the gaseous molecules react with the interfering ions to convert them into either an innocuous species different from the analyte mass or a harmless neutral species.
