Speciation of inorganic selenium by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry with hydraulic high pressure nebulization

Hydraulic high pressure nebulization was used as a highly efficient sample introduction technique in inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) studies on speciation of selenium(IV) and selenium(VI) at trace levels in drinking water. This technique, although developed for selenium speciation, was thought to be suitable for the determination of other elements of which at least 1 species forms oxo-anions. Ion-pair chromatography with a reversed-phase column was used in combination with tetrabutyl ammonium acetate as reagent and a methanol-water mixture as eluent. Optimal conditions included a 200 ul sample loop for injection. The detection limit of 0.14 ug selenium per litre as obtained using 200 ul sample volumes. The detection limit was improved to 16 ng selenium per litre using a 2 ml injection volume. There are 44 references.