Evaluation of the direct injection nebulizer in the coupling of high-performance liquid chromatography to inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry

Abstract

A direct injection nebulizer (DIN) was designed and constructed. It was used in coupling high-performance liquid chromatography to inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry for the speciation of chromium. Speciation of chromium using a concentric nebulizer and the DIN was investigated. Using a slight modification in the chromatographic conditions, the speciation of chromium was achieved on a microbore column. The absolute detection limit for both Cr^III and Cr^VI was 3 pg. The DIN was used to run the National Institute of Standards and Technology Standard Reference Material (SRM) 2670 Toxic Metals in Freeze-Dried Urine, Elevated Level.