Special Issue "Application of Inductively Coupled Plasma-Mass Spectrometry in Separation Sciences: Method Development and Validation"

Dear Colleagues,

Inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) has a special place in analytical chemistry, and the great interest in ICP-MS applications reflects the growing number of instruments installed worldwide. The ICP-MS serves as a very sensitive, fast, and multielemental as well as isotopic detection tool for the analysis of various samples. What makes the ICP-MS unique to other spectroscopic methods is its ability to quantify up to about 80 elements in a sample (liquid or gaseous) at a very broad range of concentrations—from picograms up to milligrams per liter. Despite its well-known advantages, development and optimization of new analytical procedures can be very challenging. Especially when trace amounts of analytes need to be precisely quantified and/or identified in a complex sample matrix, founding optimal conditions to achieve best sensitivity and selectivity becomes a labor-intensive process. The unquestionable merit of the ICP-MS is its usefulness in performing a direct analysis of many liquid samples with relatively simple matrices. However, almost every element and compound known to man is found in an impure or mixed state naturally. Thus, before target substances can be measured by ICP-MS, they should be adequately separated from the chemical matrix. In particular, the separation and enrichment steps prior to ICP-MS measurements are unavoidable when analytes are present at very low concentrations and/or other chemical species may cause bias in the results.

This Special Issue aims to present scholars in the field with the latest research regarding applications of ICP-MS with an emphasis on method development and optimization. Furthermore, discussion on other aspects such as influence of a sample preparation and treatment procedure on an ICP-MS measurement are also within the scope.

Please feel free to contact the editor if you have questions or wish to discuss an idea.

Dr. Irena Agnieszka Wysocka
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All papers will be peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Separations is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1800 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• ICP-MS
• separation technique
• sample matrix
• method validation
• instrument optimization
• analytical performance characteristics
• application