SEMIQUANTITATIVE ANALYSIS OF BIOLOGICAL-MATERIALS BY INDUCTIVELY-COUPLED PLASMA-MASS SPECTROMETRY

Semiquantitative analysis with accuracy of +/-30 to 50% is a valuable tool for rapid screening of samples prior to quantitative determinatio n of trace metals. In this study semiquantitative analysis software av ailable with commercial inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry ( ICP-MS) instrumentation is applied for rapid multielemental analysis, and the accuracy and precision of this semiquantitative analysis appro ach is evaluated with biological certified reference materials. Sample s were prepared by high-pressure, high-temperature nitric acid vapor-p hase digestion. For most elements the measured semiquantitative result :, are in the range of the certified values, With appropriate analyte solution dilution, the measured concentrations of the major elements ( e.g., Ca) also agree with certified values. The accuracy is within +/- 10% for 28 element determinations that include 16 individual elements (Ag, As, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mn, Mo, Ni, Pb, Rb, Sb, Sr, Tl, and Zn) a nd +/-20% for 54 element determinations that include three more elemen ts (Mg. V. and U) in eight certified reference materials including wat er. The method precision is 11 +/- 11% (relative standard deviation, n = 65). (C) 1997 Academic Press.