A new whitepaper dealing with isotope ratios in geochemistry for the simultaneously measuring Spectro MS ICP mass spectrometer is available from Spectro Analytical Instruments.
The whitepaper, entitled 'Fully Simultaneous ICP-MS: A New Approach to Isotope Geochemistry', highlights ways that geological laboratories can benefit from isotope and element ratio analysis and designates the Spectro MS as a user-friendly and less expensive alternative to multi-collector mass spectrometers.
The isotope ratios offer an insight into the age and origin of rock samples and can be used to determine the 'fingerprint' of rock, mineral and ceramic samples.
According to the company, rare-earth metals are especially important geochemical indicators whose relative presence helps to establish conclusions as to tectonic environment and history.
Willi Barger, product manager for ICP-MS at Spectro, said: 'Until now, simultaneous determination of isotope and element contents was only possible to a certain degree, making analyses both time consuming and expensive.
'The Spectro MS simultaneously records 210 isotope concentrations and ratios to four decimal places during every measurement and at a much lower cost than sequential mass spectrometers,' he added.
Detection limits for the Spectro MS are in the low parts-per-trillion range.
In addition, the Spectro MS is easy to operate; users can obtain categorised, reproducible results with the press of a button.
The free whitepaper is targeted at geochemical laboratories as well as other users.
The Spectro MS is suitable for origin determination in the food industry and the forensic science sector.
