Heavy metal concentration analysis of coral skeletons using Element XR magnetic sector ICPMS

[igorpessoa]

Hi all,

I am a PhD student at UCSC and we are planning to measure heavy metals concentrations in coral skeletons using solution methods and Element XR magnetic sector ICP-MS. Can you please help me with the following question... Do I need to take special caution with the equipment due to the high Ca concentrations? Should I remove Ca from the samples before analysis or this is just a question of mass and drift corrections and adjustment of ICP-MS setting parameters? I would like to know more about specific protocols regarding the XR settings and calibrations protocol when measuring trace metals in corals.

Best Regards,

Igor Pessoa

[Molly_I2]

hello @igorpessoa - Welcome to the online community. I will work with the teams to help open up some dialogue for you. @julian-renpenni and @Mario_Tuthorn - Please help me welcome igorpessoa!

[julian-renpenni]

Hi @igorpessoa,

Many thanks for your question. What I would potentially consider is of to mach the matrix of sample and calibration solution, in case your Ca concentration has an impact on measurements. Or potentially some polyatomic interferences with Ca. If you are speaking of "high" Ca concentrations, what exactly does that mean? Could you give us an estimate? Also, which heavy metals are you planning to measure? I will doublecheck with my colleagues if they had already similar samples and any issues.     

Cheers,

Julian 

[igorpessoa]

Hi Julian

Thanks for your reply! My goal is to measure the concentrations of Ca, Ba, Sr, Cr, Mg, Ni, Sn, Nd, Fe, Cd, Al, Cu, Zn, and Pb in coral skeletons by XR. We have preliminary OES data for major elements in corals, DF = 10,000 (~1ppm Ca, 5-20ppb Sr, ~3ppb Mg), but we are also planning to measure trace metals in coral skeletons using the XR. I was thinking... Should I dilute all samples and standards to 100ppb Ca, focussing on element/Ca ratios...? but I'm also worried about the detection limits of elements that are at low concentrations in carbonates and can be easily be contaminated (e.g. Zn).

Cheers,

Igor

[julian-renpenni]

Thanks for the feedback. I will reach out to our application team and check if they have some advice or any concerns. Will come back to you soon. 

[julian-renpenni]

Hi @igorpessoa .

I received feedback from colleagues to check publications from Mervyn Greaves of University of Cambridge and Prof Andy Milton University of Southampton. They seem to use various ICP-MS instruments from us (including Element) and work with similar sample as you. Here is the Google Scholar link to Mervyn Greaves: https://scholar.google.com/citations?hl=en&user=2JCAeEkAAAAJ

Here are also some publications, that may cover your area of analysis. But you could also reach out to those researchers to leverage their experience in this field of analysis.

The effect of matrix interferences on in situ boron isotope analysis by laser ablation multi-collector inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry: https://analyticalsciencejournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/rcm.8432

Determination of multiple element/calcium ratios in foraminiferal calcite by quadrupole ICP-MS: https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1029/2005GC000964

I am still waiting for feedback from one expert and will reply if I have an answer.

Cheers,

Julian

[igorpessoa]

Thank you so much, appreciate the support!!!

[julian-renpenni · Accepted solution]

Hi @igorpessoa.

Unfortunately, our application specialists didn't have much experience with this special kind of samples. Therefore, we can't give you an answer straight away. But no one mentioned there might be any issues. I think it will be best to reach out to the research colleagues I mentioned above. They may have all the answers for you. I wish you best luck with your experiments. 

Best regards,

Julian