News from LabRulezICPMS Library - Week 39, 2026

Our Library never stops expanding. What are the most recent contributions to LabRulezICPMS Library in the week of 21st September 2026? Check out new documents from the field of spectroscopy/spectrometry and related techniques!

👉 SEARCH THE LARGEST REPOSITORY OF DOCUMENTS ABOUT SPECTROSCOPY/SPECTROMETRY RELATED TECHNIQUES

👉 Need info about different analytical techniques? Peek into LabRulezLCMS or LabRulezGCMS libraries.

This week we bring you application notes by Agilent Technologies, LECO and Shimadzu and technical note by Thermo Fisher Scientific!

1. Agilent Technologies: Automated Analysis of Foods by ICP-QQQ with Discrete Sampling and Autodilution

Fast, accurate AOAC compliant food analysis using the Agilent 9500 ICP-QQQ with AVS MS and ADS 2 

• Application note
• Full PDF for download 

Manufacturers and regulatory bodies, including state and federal governments, have an obligation to ensure that food is safe for human consumption. To protect public health, manufacturers and producers follow rigorous testing procedures, such as AOAC Official Method 2015.01 for the analysis of heavy metals in foods using ICP-MS.1 In recent years, global initiatives have sought to strengthen existing regulations and further reduce contaminant limits, as shown by the US Food and Drug Administration’s Closer to Zero program. Meeting these increasingly stringent targets depends on analytical instruments capable of delivering higher performance, improved sensitivity, and greater accuracy. At the same time, food testing laboratories are actively pursuing greater productivity and workflow efficiency to keep pace with evolving analytical demands.

To support these goals, the Agilent 9500 Triple Quadrupole ICP-MS (ICP-QQQ) and Advanced Dilution System (ADS 2) combine seamlessly to streamline methods, improve productivity, and deliver high-quality results. Using the 9500 instrument’s unique Dual-Cell System (DCS) with Advanced Helium Mode (AHM) and Air cell mode enables effective removal of polyatomic and doubly charged interferences and enhances low-mass sensitivity.2,3 In addition, the ADS 2 simplifies sample preparation by creating calibration standards from a stock solution, pre-diluting samples before analysis, and reactively diluting any samples that exceed the calibration range. Together, these technologies support faster, more reliable delivery of accurate results. 

In this study, various standard reference materials (SRMs) were selected to represent different sample types that may be analyzed in food testing laboratories and to validate the method. As these laboratories often require high productivity, the 9500 ICP-QQQ configuration and analytical method were optimized to maximize sample throughput. The performance of the method was evaluated according to criteria set out in the AOAC 2015.01 method.

Conclusion 

The Agilent 9500 ICP-QQQ with Dual-Cell System (DCS) successfully quantified a broad range of metals in diverse food matrices in accordance with an AOAC standard method. Most elements were measured in AHM, while As and Se were accurately determined at trace levels in Air cell mode using ambient air to eliminate severe doubly charged REE interferences. AHM mode effectively suppressed polyatomic interferences such as NaAr on Cu, even in samples such as NIST 1573a Tomato Leaves, where Na is present at more than 20 times the concentration of Cu. 

Together, the two DCS gas modes provided comprehensive interference control for routine food analysis, as demonstrated by recoveries of certified elements within ±25% for the food SRMs. 

Compared to single-quadrupole ICP-MS, DCS operation in both modes reduced analysis time by about 30 seconds per sample. Automation using the Agilent AVS MS discrete sampling accessory, SPS 4 autosampler, and ADS 2 autodilutor further improved productivity and delivered reliable results, including: 

• Detection limits for As, Cd, Pb, and Hg well below the LOQs reported in AOAC 2015.01 
• Effective removal of REE2+ interferences on As and Se 
• Over 98% Lu recoveries across all SRMs, demonstrating excellent preservation of volatile elements throughout the analysis 
• Stable operation over five hours, maintaining CCV and ISTD recoveries within AOAC limits 

The 9500 ICP-QQQ enables high-throughput, AOAC-compliant food analysis by controlling interferences with AHM and Air cell mode, ideal for labs that need speed, reliability, and accuracy.

2. LECO: Determination of Total Carbon (TC) and Total Organic Carbon (TOC) in Soil by Acid Digestion and Combustion

• Application note
• Full PDF for download

Total organic carbon (TOC) determination in soil is a widely used method for evaluating soil quality in agriculture. TOC levels are a key indicator of soil vitality, fertility, and capacity for atmospheric carbon sequestration. TOC represents the carbon stored in soil organic matter, which plays a vital role in supporting microbial life, enhancing nutrient availability, and improving soil structure. These benefits translate directly into better water retention, reduced erosion, and more resilient crops—key factors for regenerative systems focused on ecosystem restoration and productivity. TOC levels can also be used to monitor the effectiveness of sustainable practices like crop rotation, cover cropping, reduced tillage, and the addition of organic matter such as manure and compost. Measuring soil TOC levels helps growers optimize the use of soil amendments like compost and manure to increase organic matter without over-application.

Instrument Model and Configuration 

The LECO C832 is a carbon determinator that utilizes hightemperature combustion in a whole oxygen environment to analyze a wide range of sample types. It features a ceramic combustion furnace in a horizontal orientation designed to analyze macro sample masses. Analysis begins when a sample is weighed into a ceramic combustion boat and inserted into the furnace where combustion is initiated under a controlled flow of oxygen. After a preset time, additional oxygen is applied directly above the sample using a ceramic lance to accelerate and complete the combustion process. The gases are swept from the furnace and passed through anhydrone for the removal of moisture and are then carried to a nondispersive infrared (NDIR) cell for detection of carbon as CO₂.

Typical Results 

For soils containing up to 5 % carbon, a linear, force through origin calibration using LECO synthetic carbon reference materials is recommended. For soils containing more than 5 % carbon, a linear, full regression calibration using LECO synthetic carbon and calcium carbonate reference materials is recommended.

3. Shimadzu: Determination of More Than 25 Nutritional, Essential and Toxic Elements in Whole Blood by ICP-MS Using Alkaline Dilution

• Application note
• Full PDF for download

User Benefits

• Offering gas switching times <5 sec and ProActive Rinsing function, short sample cycle times can be achieved 
• Using whole blood calibrators and control samples in research labs simplifies working routines 
• Alkaline media drastically improves washout capabilities for mercury and ensures proper sample stabilization compared to acidic media

Inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) like Shimadzu ICPMS-2050 offers ultra-low detection limits and fast multi-element capability required for reliable high throughput measurement of nutritional, essential, and toxic elementsin various complex biological samples. 

While urine has been widely used to monitor elemental excretion, blood serum represents the protein-free fraction of circulating blood. Whole blood, however, contains both cellular and extracellular components, enabling a more integrated assessment of an individual’s nutritional status and exposure to potentially toxic metals than either urine or serum alone. Accordingly, whole-blood ICP-MS analysis is well suited for research applications such as nutritional assessment, toxicology, and biomonitoring studies.

Conclusion

The ICPMS-2050 LF was specifically configured for robust small volume analysis while reducing carry over, sample cycle times and environmental contamination impacts while being capable of successfully addressing several kind of possibly interference providing most accurate and reliable results. 

The collision- and reaction cell performs efficiently with flowrates of helium and hydrogen in low levels of 6-7mL/min. At the same time, the method uses the well established Minitorch plasma system, allowing lowest argon consumption while reducing power consumption, which makes it exceptionally cost-effective without compromising performance characteristics. 

LabSolutions ICPMS software allows to easily control the device, consumable lifetime, QC-recoveries and internal standard stability. Furthermore, features like ProActive Rinsing and Extended Rinsing speed up the method while reducing carryover risks.

4. Thermo Fisher Scientific: User-defined calibrations with Niton XL5 Plus user mode

• Technical note
• Full PDF for download

The Thermo Scientific™ Niton™ XL5 Plus Handheld XRF Analyzer (shown in Figure 1) features a software function called User Mode, designed for experienced users who need to create their own calibrations.

User Mode has been developed to provide maximum flexibility for performing empirical calibrations. It allows the user to specify certain parameters and to proceed with analytical method development: 

• Define and select optimal beam conditions, including filter material and voltage*, while the current is dynamically adjusted to the maximum value. 
• Select elements and regions of interest from Na to U. 
• Select up to 12 background regions to perform background correction, background subtraction, or Compton normalization. 
• Select units of measurement for bulk concentrations, coat weight, and coating thickness. 
• Acquire normalized count rates for all selected regions of interest. 
• Construct calibration curves and apply mathematical fitting (Figure 2). 
• Manually enter calibration model equations for selected analytes as a function of element and background region intensities. 
• Validate the calibration model. 
• Analyze unknown samples.