Author Archive

First cover articles of 2012: Issue 1 now online!

JAAS, 2012, 27(1): 1-176

We may be a few weeks away from the New Year, but JAAS has an early present for you: the first issue of 2012, which is now online.

We are looking forward to another successful year publishing the best research related to analytical atomic spectrometry, and begin with some excellent cover articles.

Our celestial front cover features work from Martin Schiller, Chad Paton and Martin Bizzarro from the Centre for Star and Planet Formation, which is based within the Natural History Museum of Denmark at the University of Copenhagen.

They present a novel approach for the chemical purification of calcium from silicate rocks by ion-exchange chromatography, and a highly-precise method for its isotopic analysis.  By using high-resolution multiple collector inductively coupled plasma source mass spectrometry (HR-MC-ICPMS) in combination with thermal ionization mass spectrometry (TIMS), they have even tackled the smallest isotope 46Ca, which has an abundance of just 0.003 %

The resolution of their data shows significant improvement compared to previous methods, which allows for a better understanding of the mass fractionation laws responsible for the mass-dependent fractionation of Ca present in natural samples and synthetic standards.

Their work also provides insight into a better reference material to study the calcium isotope composition of terrestrial and non-terrestrial materials.

We highlighted this work when it was first published as an Advance Article, and are delighted to feature it on the front cover of this issue!

Calcium isotope measurement by combined HR-MC-ICPMS and TIMS
Martin Schiller, Chad Paton and Martin Bizzarro
J. Anal. At. Spectrom., 2012, 27, 38-49
DOI: 10.1039/C1JA10272A

JAAS 2012, Issue 1 inside front coverFeatured on the inside front cover, work from Efthymios Kapellios and Spiros Pergantis of the University of Crete, Greece.

They provide the first demonstration of the combined use of nanoelectrospray ion mobility spectrometry (IMS) with off-line inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) for determining engineered nanoparticles in aqueous solution.

Coupling the resolving power of IMS with the sensitivity of ICP-MS, make this an attractive approach for nanoparticle analysis.  The technique shows capabilities to determine size and metal content, and could, in principle, be used to determine nanoparticle concentration.

Communication: Size and elemental composition of nanoparticles using ion mobility spectrometry with inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry
Efthymios A. Kapellios and Spiros A. Pergantis
J. Anal. At. Spectrom., 2012, 27, 21-24
DOI: 10.1039/C1JA10237K

Don’t forget these cover articles will be free to access for 6 weeks, so enjoy them and let your colleagues know.

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Sabine Becker wins 2012 Winter Conference Award in Plasma Spectrochemistry

JAAS Advisory Board member Sabine Becker has been named as the recipient of the 2012 Winter Conference Award in Plasma Spectrochemistry.

The award honours scientists who have made the most noteworthy contributions to the field of plasma spectrochemistry, and will be presented to to Dr Becker during the 2012 Winter Conference on Plasma Spectrochemistry to be held in Tucson, Arizona, USA, 9-24 January 2012.  Congratulations Sabine!

Editor of JAAS, Dr May Copsey, will be attending the conference and would be delighted to meet you there.

In the meantime, take a look at some of Dr Becker’s recent work:

Pozebon et al., 2010Bioimaging of metals in thin mouse brain section by laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry: novel online quantification strategy using aqueous standards
Dirce Pozebon, Valderi L. Dressler, Marcia Foster Mesko, Andreas Matusch and J. Sabine Becker
J. Anal. At. Spectrom., 2010, 25, 1739-1744
DOI: 10.1039/C0JA00055H

Mass spectrometric imaging of elements in biological tissues by new BrainMet technique—laser microdissection inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LMD-ICP-MS)
Bei Wu, Stefan Niehren and J. Sabine Becker
J. Anal. At. Spectrom., 2011, 26, 1653-1659
DOI: 10.1039/C1JA10106D

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Effects of the sampling interface in MC-ICP-MS

Newman, JAAS, 2012

The role of secondary discharge formation and the physical and chemical processes occurring in the supersonic expansion with respect to NdO+ formation are discussed.

In this new article Karla Newman of the Water Quality Centre at Trent University, Peterborough, Canada, reports on the relative elemental sensitivities for a number of sample and skimmer cone combinations.  She looked at standard and enhanced pumping of the interface region for the Thermo Scientific Neptune MC-ICP-MS.

An improved understanding of the mass fractionation behaviour of Nd on different MC-ICP-MS instrument platforms is important for the application of Nd in geochronology and provenance studies and will also contribute to a wider understanding of the origins of instrumental mass fractionation in ICP-MS.

Read the paper in full here:

Effects of the sampling interface in MC-ICP-MS: Relative elemental sensitivities and non-linear mass dependent fractionation of Nd isotopes
Karla Newman
J. Anal. At. Spectrom., 2012, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/C1JA10222B

Take a look at Dr Newman’s previous work in JAAS:

High sensitivity skimmers and non-linear mass dependent fractionation in ICP-MS
Karla Newman, Philip A. Freedman, Jamie Williams, Nick S. Belshaw and Alex N. Halliday
J. Anal. At. Spectrom., 2009, 24, 742-751
DOI: 10.1039/B819065H

You may also be interested in this article:

Technical Note: From volcanic rock powder to Sr and Pb isotope ratios: a fit-for-purpose procedure for multi-collector ICP–mass spectrometric analysis
Ingrid Smet, David De Muynck, Frank Vanhaecke and Marlina Elburg
J. Anal. At. Spectrom., 2010, 25, 1025-1032
DOI: 10.1039/B926335G

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HOT paper: Calcium isotope measurement by combined HR-MC-ICPMS and TIMS

Schiller et al., 2012In this new article, Martin Schiller, Chad Paton and Martin Bizzarro of the Centre for Star and Planet Formation at the University of Copenhagen report a novel approach for the chemical purification of Ca from silicate rocks by ion-exchange chromatography, and a highly-precise method for the isotopic analysis of Ca by high-resolution multiple collector inductively coupled plasma source mass spectrometry (HR-MC-ICPMS), in combination with thermal ionization mass spectrometry (TIMS).

Read the article in full here:

Calcium isotope measurement by combined HR-MC-ICPMS and TIMS
Martin Schiller, Chad Paton and Martin Bizzarro
J. Anal. At. Spectrom., 2012, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/C1JA10272A

Take a look at this other paper from the same authors, published earlier in 2011:

High-precision Mg-isotope measurements of terrestrial and extraterrestrial material by HR-MC-ICPMS—implications for the relative and absolute Mg-isotope composition of the bulk silicate Earth
Martin Bizzarro, Chad Paton, Kirsten Larsen, Martin Schiller, Anne Trinquier and David Ulfbeck
J. Anal. At. Spectrom., 2011, 26, 565-577
DOI: 10.1039/C0JA00190B

You may also be interested in this article:

Separation of Mg, Ca and Fe from geological reference materials for stable isotope ratio analyses by MC-ICP-MS and double-spike TIMS
Frank Wombacher, Anton Eisenhauer, Alexander Heuser and Stefan Weyer
J. Anal. At. Spectrom., 2009, 24, 627-636
DOI: 10.1039/B820154

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Issue 12 now available

JAAS, 2011, Issue 12 covers

JAAS, 2011, 26(12): 2309-2536

The last issue of 2011 is now online!

On the front cover, Cerutti and colleagues from Argentina present their work on a novel on-line scandium preconcentration system implemented with chemical vapor generation associated to inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (VG-ICP-OES).

On-line preconcentration and vapor generation of scandium prior to ICP-OES detection
S. Cerutti, L. A. Escudero, J. A. Gasquez, R. A. Olsina and L. D. Martinez
J. Anal. At. Spectrom., 2011, 26, 2428-2433
DOI: 10.1039/C1JA10175G

Highlighted on the inside front cover, Joerg Hippler of the University of Duisburg-Essen and co-workers have developed a methodology to speciate and quantify the unconjugated intracellular arsenic species in hepatocytes and urothelial cells.

Intracellular, time-resolved speciation and quantification of arsenic compounds in human urothelial and hepatoma cells
Joerg Hippler, Ricarda Zdrenka, Robin A. D. Reichel, Daniel G. Weber, Peter Rozynek, Georg Johnen, Elke Dopp and Alfred V. Hirner
J. Anal. At. Spectrom., 2011, 26, 2396-2403
DOI: 10.1039/C1JA10150A

Both these articles are free for 6 weeks, so take a look and do let your colleagues know.

We’d like to thank all our cover authors for 2011 and look forward to bringing you more excellent papers and images in 2012.

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Geochemistry and geology in JAAS

JAAS 2011, Issue 3 cover

Quantification of transient signals in multiple collector inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry: accurate lead isotope ratio determination by laser ablation of individual fluid inclusions; Pettke et al., JAAS, 2011

Inspired by our trip to Prague for Goldschmidt 2011, we’ve collected together some of the articles published in JAAS from the areas of geochemistry and geology.  If you work in this area, why not submit your next paper to JAAS?

A new approach to single shot laser ablation analysis and its application to in situ Pb/U geochronology
J. M. Cottle, M. S. A. Horstwood and R. R. Parrish
J. Anal. At. Spectrom., 2009, 24
DOI: 10.1039/B821899D

Precise determination of Sm, Nd concentrations and Nd isotopic compositions at the nanogram level in geological samples by thermal ionization mass spectrometry
Zhuyin Chu, Fukun Chen, Yueheng Yang and Jinhui Guo
J. Anal. At. Spectrom., 2009, 24
DOI: 10.1039/B904047A

Fractionation of alkali elements during laser ablation ICP-MS analysis of silicate geological samples
Jitka Míková, Jan Košler, Henry P. Longerich, Michael Wiedenbeck and John M. Hanchar
J. Anal. At. Spectrom., 2009, 24
DOI: 10.1039/B900276F

Technical Note: From volcanic rock powder to Sr and Pb isotope ratios: a fit-for-purpose procedure for multi-collector ICP–mass spectrometric analysis
Ingrid Smet, David De Muynck, Frank Vanhaecke and Marlina Elburg
J. Anal. At. Spectrom., 2010, 25
DOI: 10.1039/B926335G
From themed issue Sector-Field ICP-Mass Spectrometry

Precise U–Pb and Pb–Pb dating of Phanerozoic baddeleyite by SIMS with oxygen flooding technique
Qiu-Li Li, Xian-Hua Li, Yu Liu, Guo-Qiang Tang, Jing-Hui Yang and Wei-Guang Zhu
J. Anal. At. Spectrom., 2010, 25
DOI: 10.1039/B923444F

Technical Note: An improved digestion technique for determination of platinum group elements in geological samples
Liang Qi, Jianfeng Gao, Xiaowen Huang, Jing Hu, Mei-Fu Zhou and Hong Zhong
J. Anal. At. Spectrom., 2011, 26
DOI: 10.1039/C1JA10114E

Technical Note: Precise and accurate determination of Sm, Nd concentrations and Nd isotopic compositions in geological samples by MC-ICP-MS
Yue-Heng Yang, Zhu-Yin Chu, Fu-Yuan Wu, Lie-Wen Xie and Jin-Hui Yang
J. Anal. At. Spectrom., 2011, 26
DOI: 10.1039/C1JA00001B
From themed issue 2010 Asia Pacific Winter Conference on Plasma Spectrochemistry

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Issue 11 published

JAAS 2011, Issue 11 covers

JAAS, 2011, 26(11): 2097-2308

The latest issue is now online, with iodine all over the covers.  Ok, not literally, but work involving this element is certainly highlighted.

On the front cover, JAAS Editorial Board member Norbert Jakubowski and colleagues in Germany present a new laser ablation (LA)-ICP-MS method for single cell and cell nucleus imaging.

Iodine was employed as an elemental dye and the spatial resolution attained was sufficient to detect even smaller cell nuclei within a liver biopsy tissue.

Iodine as an elemental marker for imaging of single cells and tissue sections by laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry
Charlotte Giesen, Larissa Waentig, Thomas Mairinger, Daniela Drescher, Janina Kneipp, Peter H. Roos, Ulrich Panne and Norbert Jakubowski
J. Anal. At. Spectrom., 2011, 26, 2160-2165
DOI: 10.1039/C1JA10227C

On the inside front cover, Pilar Bermejo-Barrera of the University of Santiago de Compostela and colleagues provide a review of recent literature focused on iodine determination/speciation in environmental, biological and clinical materials.

Critical Review: A review on iodine speciation for environmental, biological and nutrition fields
Antonio Moreda-Piñeiro, Vanessa Romarís-Hortas and Pilar Bermejo-Barrera
J. Anal. At. Spectrom., 2011, 26, 2107-2152
DOI: 10.1039/C0JA00272K

Both the cover articles are free to access for six weeks, so take a look and make sure your knowledge on iodine and analysis is up-to-date!

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JAAS Issue 10 online now

JAAS, 2011, 26(10):1909-2096

In the latest issue of JAAS, the cover highlights work on determining uranium isotopic ratios.

Huanwen Chen of the East China Institute of Technology, Nanchang, and colleagues used extractive electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (EESI-MS) for the quantitative detection of uranium isotopic ratios in samples from natural water, uranium ore and soil.  Their results indicate that this method enables fast detection of uranium isotopes with potential applications in nuclear research laboratories and the nuclear energy industry.

Technical Note: Determination of uranium isotopic ratio (235U/238U) using extractive electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry
Chunxiao Liu, Bin Hu, Jianbo Shi, Jianqiang Li, Xinglei Zhang and Huanwen Chen
J. Anal. At. Spectrom., 2011, 26, 2045-2051
DOI: 10.1039/C1JA10054H

This article is free to access for the next six weeks.

Why not browse some of our latest high-quality technical notes?  Amongst those featured in this issue are:

Technical Note: Plasma quenching during hydrocarbon sample introduction via gas chromatography into a pulsed ms dc-glow discharge
Daniel Fliegel and Detlef Günther
J. Anal. At. Spectrom., 2011, 26, 2052-2057
DOI: 10.1039/C0JA00274G

Technical Note: Batch is bad? Leaching of Opalinus clay samples and ICP-MS determination of extracted elements
Ralf Kautenburger
J. Anal. At. Spectrom., 2011, 26, 2089-2092
DOI: 10.1039/C1JA10142K

And don’t forget to take a look at the latest Atomic Spectrometry Update, also in this issue:

Atomic spectrometry update: X-ray fluorescence spectrometry
Margaret West, Andrew T. Ellis, Philip J. Potts, Christina Streli, Christine Vanhoof, Dariusz Wegrzynek and Peter Wobrauschek
J. Anal. At. Spectrom., 2011, 26, 1919-1963
DOI: 10.1039/C1JA90038B

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CSI 2011 – Brazil

Niamh O'Connor and Board members Gary Hieftje, Martín Resano, Joanna Szpunar and Frank Vanhaecke join the organisers of CSI 2011 for lunch

JAAS Publisher, Dr Niamh O’Connor, and a number of our Board members attended the recent Colloquium Spectroscopicum Internationale XXXVII, which took place from 28 August to 2 September in Buzios, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.  You can see them enjoying lunch with the conference organisers in the picture to the left!

Congratulations to our prize winner Nicholas Darangwa of Tshwane University of Technology, South Africa, who was awarded for his poster “Making ETAAS determination less dependent on the vaporization kinetics of the analytes”.  Take a look at Nicholas’ paper (in two parts), published in JAAS from last year:

Application of Langmuir theory of evaporation to the simulation of sample vapor composition and release rate in graphite tube atomizers. Part 1. The model and calculation algorithm
Dmitri A. Katskov and Nicholas Darangwa
J. Anal. At. Spectrom., 2010, 25, 1079-1090
DOI: 10.1039/C002017F

Application of Langmuir theory of evaporation to the simulation of sample vapor composition and release rate in graphite tube atomizers. Part 2. Verification of the methodology and investigation of atomization of Ag and Cu
Dmitri Katskov, Nicholas Darangwa and Uwe Heitmann
J. Anal. At. Spectrom., 2010, 25, 1091-1101
DOI: 10.1039/C002024A

If you were at the conference and would like to share your experiences, please leave your comments below.

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Issue 9 now online

JAAS, 2011, 26(9): 1689-1908

Issue 9 of JAAS is now online and includes a Critical Review from Petra Krystek and colleagues on the application of plasma spectrometry for the analysis of engineered nanoparticles.

Critical Review: Application of plasma spectrometry for the analysis of engineered nanoparticles in suspensions and products
Petra Krystek, Andrea Ulrich, Carmen Cecilia Garcia, Srirang Manohar and Rob Ritsema
J. Anal. At. Spectrom., 2011, 26, 1701-1721
DOI: 10.1039/C1JA10071H

The front cover highlights work by Sohail Mushtaq from the group of Juliet Pickering at Imperial College and collaborators from London Metropolitan University and EMPA looking at the role of oxygen in analytical glow discharges.

Read this article for free for 6 weeks:

The role of oxygen in analytical glow discharges: GD-OES and GD-ToF-MS studies
Sohail Mushtaq, Juliet C. Pickering, Edward B. M. Steers, Peter Horvath, James A. Whitby and Johann Michler
J. Anal. At. Spectrom., 2011, 26, 1746-1755
DOI: 10.1039/C1JA10087D

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