ABSTRACT
Understanding the basic principles of ICP mass spectrometry is important but not absolutely essential to operate and use an instrument on a routine basis. However, understanding how these basic principles affect the performance of an instrument is a real benefit when evaluating the analytical capabilities of the technique. There is no question that the better informed you are going into an evaluation of commercial instrumentation, the better chance you have of selecting the right one for your application. Having been involved in demonstrating ICP-MS equipment and running customer samples for over 10 years, I know the mistakes that people make when they get into the evaluation process. So, in Chapter 21, I have presented a set of evaluation guidelines that hopefully will help you make the right decision.
