ABSTRACT
OK, you have convinced your boss that ICP-MS is perfect for your laboratory. Hopefully, the chapters on the 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 into how to compare instrument designs, hardware components, and software features, which are of critical importance when you have to make a decision regarding which instrument to purchase. There are a number of commercial systems available in the marketplace that look very similar and have very similar specifications, but how do you know which is the best one that fits your needs? This chapter, in conjunction with the other chapters in the book, presents a set of evaluation guidelines to help you decide the most important analytical figures of merit for your application.
