Acquisition and Development of the Next-Generation ICP-MS Instrument

化学研究仪器和设施项目的这一奖项将帮助乔治华盛顿大学化学系购买电感耦合等离子体质谱仪(ICP-MS)。该设备将用于下列研究领域：(1)用于元素分析的新型高温氦等离子体和新的雾化系统的研究；(2)用于生物有机痕量物质检测的基质辅助激光解吸电离质谱仪的研究；(3)测定哥伦比亚特区地下水的当前质量和数量，并制定控制点源和非点源污染物排放的计划；(4)测量生物样品中金属的浓度和同位素比率；(5)检测水产养殖开发区样本中的金属污染物，以找出金属通过食用鱼进入人类的路径；(6)制定经过验证的法医样本分析方法。电感耦合等离子体质谱(ICP-MS)是一种利用在流动的导电气体中感应磁场产生的放电来测定材料的元素组成的高温技术。该技术具有显著的选择性和灵敏度，可用于地下水污染物、垃圾渗滤液、痕量金属、法医材料和生物材料的分析化学测定。

This award from the Chemistry Research Instrumentation and Facilities Program will assist the Department of Chemistry at George Washington University in the purchase of an Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometer (ICP-MS). This equipment will be used in the following areas of research: (1) investigation of novel high-temperature helium plasmas and new nebulization systems used in analytical spectrometry for elemental analysis; (2) investigation of matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization mass spectrometry for the detection of bio- organic trace materials; (3) determination of the current quality and quantity of ground water in the District of Columbia, and to develop plans to contain discharges of pollutants from point and non-point sources; (4) measurement of the concentrations and isotopic ratios of metals in biological samples; (5) detection of metal pollutants in samples from the aquaculture development areas in order to find the path of metals to humans through the food fish; isotopic ratios in near-surface samples; and (6) development of validated methodologies for analysis of forensic samples. Inductive Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS) is a high temperature technique which uses the discharge generated by inducing a magnet field in a flowing conducting gas to determine the elemental composition of a material. The technique has remarkable selective and sensitivities that allows analytical chemical determination of ground water pollutants landfill leachates, trace metals, forensic material and biological material.