Liquid-Phase Chromatograph coupled to an inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometer (HPLC-ICP-MS)

本提案中使用的仪器是液相色谱仪，与电感耦合等离子体质谱仪（LC-ICP-MS，更具体地说是生物惰性HPLC-ICP-MS/MS）耦合，以取代拜罗伊特大学环境地球化学组内现有的过时的类似配置。该仪器是该小组当前和未来基础研究以及国家和国际合作的核心。该小组的研究旨在确定和量化化学和（微）生物过程，这些过程控制着环境中必需或潜在有毒微量元素的命运和运输。主要目标是超越总元素定量，而是识别单个的，通常是以前未知或未识别的物种。该小组在国际上享有盛誉，特别是他们在与硫的地球化学循环相关的氧化还原敏感微量元素方面的工作。目前和计划的个人和合作研究项目（由DFG、BMBF、EU等资助）都是基于该集团在其实验室中对该仪器的专业知识和可访问性，以及其他进一步方法开发。仪器的主要要求是高效液相色谱前端系统，对通常使用的高腐蚀性洗脱液是化学惰性的（使用硫醇化物质需要高达pH 13的洗脱条件），能够用不同的洗脱液进行柱清洗，同时用梯度洗脱液进行样品分析，并能用单独应用的洗脱液进行在线样品预处理（用两个并联的四元泵实现）。检测器（ICP-MS）必须能够在大浓度范围内定量（类）金属，具有高灵敏度，对环境基质的鲁棒性，有效去除干扰的能力，包括同量异位素干扰的分辨率（用三重四极杆装置实现），以及快速连续的多元素检测。进样必须采用灵活的吸收体积、自动内标加标、水稀释或载气稀释自动进行。耦合的硬件和软件要求，包括两台仪器之间的双向通信，必须由一个单一的制造商实现，软件必须既允许测量，很大程度上自动化的例程，以及方法开发上的一个完全单独的模式与手动控制的所有参数。数据解释软件必须对整个工作组免费开放。

The instrument applied for within the present proposal is a liquid-phase chromatograph coupled to an inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometer (LC-ICP-MS, more specifically a bioinert HPLC-ICP-MS/MS) to replace an existing, outdated similar configuration within the Environmental Geochemistry Group at Bayreuth University. The instrument is central for the group´s current and future fundamental research and national and international collaborations. The group´s research aims at identifying and quantifying chemical and (micro)biological processes that govern fate and transport of either essential or potentially toxic trace elements in the environment. The major goal is to go beyond total element quantification, instead identify individual, often previously unknown or unrecognized, species. The group has an international reputation especially for their work on redox-sensitive trace elements interlinking with the biogeochemical cycle of sulfur. Current and planned individual and collaborative research projects (funded by e.g. DFG, BMBF, EU) all base on the group´s expertise with and accessibility of that instrument in their own laboratories, among others also for further method development.The major requirements for the instrumentation are a high performance liquid-phase chromatography front end system, chemically inert against the typically used highly corrosive eluents (work with thiolated species requires elution conditions up to pH 13), capable of column cleaning with different eluents parallel to sample analysis with gradient eluents and online sample pre-treatment with separately applied eluents (realized with two parallel quaternary pumps). The detector (ICP-MS) must enable quantification of metal(loid)s over a large concentration range, with high sensitivity, robustness against environmental matrices, ability of efficient removal of interference, including resolution of isobaric interferences (realized with a triple quadrupole setup), and fast consecutive multi-element detection. Sample introduction must work automatically with flexible uptake volumes, automatic internal standard spiking, aqueous dilution or carrier gas dilution. Requirements of hardware and software for coupling, including two-way communication between both instruments, must be implemented from one single manufacturer and the software must both allow for measurements with largely automatized routines as well as for method development on a fully individual mode with manual control of all parameters. Software for data interpretation must be freely accessible to the whole work group.