Fourth 7500ce to be Installed: Helium Collision Mode Improves Productivityby Jack Northington, West Coast Analytical Services, California, USA
The Company
Established in 1984, West Coast Analytical Service, Inc (WCAS) is part of Bodycote Materials Testing Inc. and specializes in trace chemical analysis using a range of techniques including ICP-MS, ICP-OES, GC, LC, IC, GC/MS and GFAAS.
While most samples originate in the pharmaceutical or environmental sector, we also have wide experience in industrial hygiene, semiconductor/electronics, polymer, and manufacturing industries. WCAS also collaborate with a variety of research organizations on exposure studies, risk assessment, diet studies, essentiality of nutrients, drug development, method development and validation, and trace impurities.
Continued Investment in ICP-MS
A fourth Agilent 7500ce ICP-MS with Octopole Reaction System (ORS) is about to be installed. We find that the collision mode using helium in the ORS minimizes practically all common interferences, allowing lower limits of detection for transition elements such as Cr, Fe, Ni and V and other elements such as As and P. We also use one of our 7500ce’s to perform trace metals speciation, both by LC-ICP-MS and GC-ICP-MS.
Improved Productivity
Productivity has improved significantly with the introduction of each 7500ce, especially for our metals screen analysis which tests for more than 60 elements. With the ORS, lower detection limits and removal of interferences is accomplished under one set of conditions in a single run.
Simplified Sample Prep
On previous instruments, we found that making separate runs with conditions optimized for specific elements was the most productive approach. For example, we routinely test for As, Cd, Hg, and Pb in herbal products, nutraceuticals, and drugs. Arsenic was usually run separately adding a reagent to compensate for dissolved carbon signal enhancement. Cr suffered from an ArC interference. Hg required HCl which interfered with As from ArCl formed in the plasma. Now on the Agilent 7500ce instruments, we are working with one set of instrument conditions to determine these elements from a single preparation.
More Information
Jack Northington, West Coast Analytical Services, 9240 Santa Fe Springs Road, Santa Fe Springs, CA 90670, USA tel: 562.948.2225 fax: 562. 948 .850, www.wcaslab.com.