Inductively Coupled Plasma Optical Emission Spectrometry (ICP-OES) is an approved analytical technique that can be used for a huge variety of – typically liquid – samples.
One of the advantages of ICP-OES lies in the fact that it provides a linear relationship between analyte amount and signal, with only a few exceptions that can be avoided. Precision and accuracy of analytical results, however, are not automatically guaranteed. Thus, an appropriate method development is decisive.
Some of the factors influencing the performance of a method can be considered as constant. The same cannot be said for some other parameters: pump tubes wear over time, so does the torch, nebulizer and the spray chamber might slightly have changed after cleaning.
While most of these effects are small, they can add up and thus may not meet the requirements of the analytical task if they are not taken care of. As a result, the calibration or standardization of an analytical method at the beginning of a working day or after changing the sample introduction system is common practice. However, some of the effects do also occur while the instrument is running, and other environmental effects may also influence the analytical results in a possibly even non-linear way. This is typically of no concern if only a few samples are measured. But many laboratories analyze hundreds of samples per day. In these cases, measures should be taken to make sure that the instrument is always providing acceptable results.
Learn more in this informative application report.