TRENDS IN ELEMENTAL ANALYSIS TECHNIQUES DETECTION LIMIT NUMBER OF SAMPLES/ELEMENTS ppt-ppb ppm-% highlow GFAAS FAAS ICP-AES* ICP-MS* XRF* TechniqueXRFICP-MS ElementsNa-ULi-U Interferencesspectral overlaps, limited resolutionisobaric ions Detection~1-10 ppm~10 ppt (liquids) Limit~10 ppb (solid-0.1 g into 100 mL) Sample prepminimal (homogenization) significant (digestion/filtration) Field workyes not possible Capital cost$25-50K$170-250K XRF and ICP-MS are complementary These techniques are replacing conventional atomic spectroscopy techniques such as FAAS and GFAAS
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