IsoMist Temperature Controlled Spray Chamber

Importance of the Topic

The control of spray chamber temperature in ICP-OES analysis is critical for consistent nebulization, sample transport and plasma stability, especially when analyzing volatile organics or viscous matrices. By maintaining a stable and programmable temperature, analysts can achieve improved signal precision, lower detection limits and reliable long-term performance, even under fluctuating laboratory ambient conditions.

Objectives and Study Overview

This work evaluates the performance of the Agilent IsoMist Temperature Controlled Spray Chamber when coupled to an ICP-OES platform. Key goals include assessing long-term signal stability for gasoline samples, determining method detection limits (MDLs) for trace elements in volatile media and demonstrating ease of integration with standard software and autosampler systems.

Methodology and Instrumentation

• Instrument: Agilent 5900/5800 or 5100/5110 ICP-OES with OneNeb or glass concentric nebulizer
• Spray chamber: Double-pass glass design housed in a thermally conductive polymer, cooled/heated by a Peltier device
• Temperature control: –10 to +60 °C, 0.1 °C accuracy, 1 °C set increments
• Control interface: ICP Expert software via Bluetooth EDR 2.0 or USB
• Sample: Gasoline spiked at 1 ppm of multiple elements
• Procedure: Continuous measurement over 8 h at –10 °C and over 5 h at room temperature for comparison

Results and Discussion

Long-term stability plots show markedly lower drift and improved signal consistency at –10 °C over an 8 h run versus room temperature data over 5 h. Precision (%RSD) for eight elements remained below 2% with the cooled chamber, compared to up to 4.94% RSD at ambient temperature. MDLs achieved at –10 °C are all in the sub-ppm range (e.g., Ag 0.020 ppm, B 0.026 ppm, Ca 0.008 ppm, Si 0.110 ppm), demonstrating enhanced sensitivity for volatile samples.

Benefits and Practical Applications

• Enhanced analysis of volatile organic solvents and oils with reduced solvent loading on plasma
• Consistent performance under fluctuating laboratory temperatures
• Rapid response time (room temperature to –5 °C in 15 min) and compact footprint for routine QA/QC
• Simple installation, cleaning and maintenance with removable double-pass chamber

Future Trends and Applications

The integration of programmable temperature control in sample introduction opens avenues for automated method development, tailored protocols for emerging solvents and real-time adjustments in hyphenated techniques. Advances may include closed-loop feedback systems tied to plasma diagnostics and miniaturized Peltier modules for field-deployable ICP-OES units.

Conclusion

The Agilent IsoMist Temperature Controlled Spray Chamber significantly improves precision, lowers detection limits and stabilizes plasma performance for challenging matrices. Its seamless software integration and robust design make it a valuable enhancement for modern ICP-OES laboratories.

Reference

1. Agilent Technologies. Multi-elemental determination of gasoline using Agilent 5100 ICP-OES with oxygen injection and a temperature controlled spray chamber; publication 5991-6469EN, 2015.