5. Analytical performance

5.1 Multi-element capacity

The first property of an ICP-MS is its multi-element capability, i.e. its ability to analyze several isotopes of the same element. Depending on the type of spectrometer used, up to 75 elements of the periodic table can be rapidly determined, either sequentially or simultaneously (see figure 10 ). Only a few elements remain inaccessible, mainly because the ionization potential is too high, resulting in insufficient ion concentration in the plasma, or because of excessive environmental or matrix contamination.

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