Comparison of ICP-OES and ICP-MS for Trace Element Analysis

ICP-OES is mainly used for samples with high total dissolved solids (TDS) or suspended solids and is, therefore, more robust for analyzing ground water, ... PopularApplications&TechniquesShopAllProductsServicesSupport Signin QuickOrder     Search ThermoFisherScientific SearchAll Search Home›Industrial&AppliedSciences›Environmental›EnvironmentalLearningCenter›ContaminantAnalysisInformation›MetalAnalysis›ComparisonofICP-OESandICP-MSforTraceElementAnalysisFood&AgrigenomicsWorkflowsolutionstoenablesafety,qualityandproductivity,Learnmore›ComparisonofICP-OESandICP-MSforTraceElementAnalysisSeeNavigation‹MetalAnalysisComparisonofICP-OESandICP-MSforTraceElementAnalysis ›AnalyzingTraceElementswithEPAMethod200.7 ›AnalyzingTraceElementswithEPAMethod200.8 ›AnalyzingTraceElementswithEPAMethod200.9 ›AnalyzingTraceElementswithEPAMethod6010 ›ElementalSpeciationAnalysis › Environmental WaterAnalysisAirQualityAnalysisSoilAnalysisEnvironmentalContaminantAnalysisEnvironmentalSampleContainers&AccessoriesEnvironmentalMonitoringServicesEnvironmentalLearningCenterIn-AirPathogenSurveillanceSARS-CoV-2EnvironmentalSurfaceDetection Choosingtherightinstrumentforenvironmentalsampleanalysis BothICP-OESandICP-MSarewidelyusedfortraceelementanalysis.ChoosingbetweenICP-OESorICP-MSdependsonthefollowingparameters:JoinourCommunityInstrumentperformanceICP-OESquantitationisbasedonmeasurementofexcitedatomsandionsatthewavelengthcharacteristicsforthespecificelementsbeingmeasured.ICP-MS,however,measuresanatom’smassbymassspectrometry(MS).Duetothedifferenceinmetalelementdetection,thelowerdetectionlimitforICP-MScanextendtopartspertrillion(ppt),wherethelowerlimitforICP-OESispartsperbillion(ppb).Obviously,iftheelementsfordetectionhaveregulatorylimitsthatarebelowornearthelowerdetectionlimitofICP-OES,ICP-MSistheinstrumentofchoice.CharacteristicsoftheenvironmentalsampleICP-OESismainlyusedforsampleswithhightotaldissolvedsolids(TDS)orsuspendedsolidsandis,therefore,morerobustforanalyzinggroundwater,wastewater,soil,andsolidwaste.Itcanbeusedfordrinkingwateranalysisaswell.Butingeneral,ICP-OESisusedtomeasurecontaminantsforenvironmentalsafetyassessmentandelementswithahigherregulatorylimit.ICP-MS,ontheotherhand,isespeciallyusefulforanalyzingsampleswithlowregulatorylimits.Inaddition,ICP-OEShasmuchhighertoleranceforTDS(upto30%).ICP-MShasmuchlowertoleranceforTDS(about0.2%)althoughtherearewaystoincreasethetolerance.AlthoughbothICP-OESandICP-MScanbeusedforhighmatrixsamples,sampledilutionisoftennecessaryforuseonICP-MS.Inaddition,ifasamplecontainsanalytesofgreatdifferenceinconcentration,ICP-MShaswiderdynamiclinearrangesothesamplemaynotbedilutedtodetecttheseelementsatthesametime.RegulatoryrequirementsIntheU.S.,theregulatorycompliancemonitoringforICP-OESisgovernedbyEPAMethods200.5and200.7.EPAMethod200.7wasapprovedforuseasaxialviewofICP-OESandisthereforetheEPAmethodforcompliancemonitoringbyICP-OES.EPAMethod200.8governsregulatorycomplianceusingICP-MS.BothEPA200.7and200.8canbeusedforcomplianceoftheSafeDrinkingWaterAct(SDWA)andtheCleanWaterAct(CWA).FordrinkingwaterregulatorycomplianceorSDWAcompliance,eitherICP-OESorICP-MSaloneisnotsufficient.RegulatorycompliancecanbeaccomplishedbythecombinationofICP-OES(forminerals)andICP-MS,orICP-OESandGFAA(usingEPA200.9),orICP-MSandGFAA(forminerals).ICP-OEScannotbeusedtomeasurearsenic,mercury,andsomeothertoxicmetalswithverylowregulatorylimitsusingEPAMethod200.7.ICP-MScan’tbeusedtomeasuretheminerals(Na,K,Ca,Mg,andFe)indrinkingwaterusingEPAMethod200.8.ItisalsoimportanttomentionthatcurrentEPAMethod200.8version5.4cannotusecollisioncelltechnologyfordrinkingwateranalysis,reducingthepowertouseICP-MStominimizepolyatomicinterferences.FormoreinformationReadtheblogpost"TraceElementalAnalysis:WhichInstrumentisBestforYou?"forhelpselectingthebesttoolsformetalanalysisComparisonofICP-MSandICP-OES AdvantagesandMethodsICP-MSMainadvantagesICP-MSisbecomingaworkhorseformetalanalysisinwaternotonlybecauseitofferslowerdetectionlimit.Thefollowingfeaturesalsocontributeitswiderangeofenvironmentalapplications:WidedynamicrangeEfficientlyremovepolyatomicspectralinterferencesusingcollisioncelltechnologyRapidsemi-quantitativeanalysisIsotopicanalysisSpeciationcapabilityRegulatorymethodsEPA200.8EPA321.8(IC-ICP-MS)EPA6020ISO/DIS17294-1:2004ISO17294-2:2016NEN6427:1999ICP-OESMainadvantagesICP-OESisusedforallthematricesofenvironmentalsamplesespeciallyforhigh-matrixsamples.Thefollowingfeaturesalsocontributeitswiderangeofenvironmentalapplications:OnlyanalyticalgradereagentsaresufficientSimplermethoddevelopmentdoesnotneedaspecialistwithhighlytechnicalexpertiseOverallisacheaperoptioniftheelementsdonotneedlowerdetectionlimitthatICP-MSdeliversRegulatorymethodsEPA200.5EPA200.7EPA6010ISO11885:2007ISO/TC190/SC3/WG1N0252NPR6425:1995NEN6426:1995EN12506:2003EnvironmentalResourceLibraryAccessatargetedcollectionofscientificapplicationnotes,casestudies,videos,webinarsandwhitepapersforairquality,contaminantandwaterqualityanalysis. 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