Horiba Jobin Yvon's Activa-M excites for bronze
spectrometer (OES) brings the technique into the hands of the
non-expert for the first time.
Horiba Jobin Yvon have combined multi-line analysis ICP-OES with high instrument performance and unique software tools to allow first time users to obtain accurate results. The Activa-M, unveiled at Pittcon07, won the Pittcon Editors' bronze award because it brings this important elemental analysis technique into the hands of the beginner for the first time. Applications for such a technique in the pharmaceutical industry include finding the concentrations of platinum anticancer drugs in patient samples and checking the satisfactory removal of metal catalysts from reaction processes. The instrument will find application anywhere elemental analyses are needed, but most commonly in environmental, metallurgical and petroleum laboratories. ICP-OES allows the quantitative measurement of all inorganic elements by exciting elements injected into the plasma so that they emit electromagnetic radiation when they relax back to their non-excited state, with the amount of energy emitted proportional to the amount of the element in the sample. Up until now use of the technique has been restricted to experts with sufficient knowledge to confidently interpret results due to the possibility of the signals from different elements overlapping potentially leading to erroneous results. "The instrument and software was developed because we know that in laboratories, more and more people have more and more samples to run and are no longer experts in one technique," Agnes Cosnier, ICP product manager for Horiba Jobin Yvon, told LabTechnologist.com. Each element emits radiation at characteristic wavelengths peculiar to its chemical nature and the new instrument allows the efficient use of the information emitted by a sample across the full 120nm to 800nm spectrum. This multi-line analysis allows validation of the line selection and verification of unexpected spectral and non-spectral interferences. "HoribaJobinYvon have developed a revolutionary approach by developing a specific database integrated into new software which helps to select the best wavelengths for specific applications," Cosnier continued. The new software package includes the company's MASTER (multi-line analysis, selection tool for enhanced reliability) and SOS (statistical outlier survey) as well as including a new ICP-based database featuring not only wavelengths, but also ionization level, line width, limit of detection and the dynamic range of each line. MASTER performs multi-line selection according to the concentration range of each element to avoid overlapping peaks with other sample elements and the matrix, simplifying the development and validation of new applications or changes to existing protocols. SOS evaluates the line concentration results and detects outliers, which are rejected before the other results are averaged to provide a single reliable result for each element. The time-limiting part of these measurements is the sample preparation, as the samples need to be dissolved before injection into the instruments, often in acid. Sample run time can be as short as one minute, with the detection of very low element concentrations or heavy metals, for instance in toxicity studies, needing longer run times. The analysis of the metals present in beer is very important to the brewing industry, and the presence of CO2 and undissolved proteins in the liquid can cause many problems with the CO2 breaking out of solution during the pumping and nebulisation stages.
