ABSTRACT
As discussed in Chapter 7, a quadrupole-based ICP-MS system typically offers a resolution of 0.7-1.0 amu. This is quite adequate for most routine applications, but has proved to be inadequate for many elements that are prone to argon-, solvent-, and/or sample-based spectral interferences. These limitations in quadrupoles drove researchers in the direction of traditional high-resolution magnetic sector technology to improve quantitation by resolving the analyte mass away from the spectral interference.1 These ICP-MS instruments that were first commercialized in the late 1980s offered resolving power of up to 10,000, compared to that of a quadrupole, which was on the order of ~300. This dramatic improvement in resolving power allowed difficult elements such as iron, potassium, arsenic, vanadium, and chromium to be determined with relative ease, even in complex sample matrices.
