Our ICP laboratory houses state-of-the-art ICP instrumentation for trace elemental analysis, and also holds a range of other instruments for high-throughput, high sensitivity analysis of cations, anions and waterborne organic species.
The ICP Laboratory provides a range of services in trace elemental and anion analysis. The laboratory is the contact for our FASTCHEM service, providing analytical services to clients in the horticultural industry, and we have been certified with the Australasian Soil and Plant Analysis Council Inc. (ASPAC).
An Inductively Coupled Plasma (ICP) is generated by heating a flow of argon gas with a radio frequency induction coil to generate temperatures up to 10,000 degrees Kelvin. Usually a dissolved sample is nebulised and fed into the plasma where the atoms are thermally excited and, to a lesser extent, ionised. The variety and quantity of elements present in the sample can be measured (often simultaneously) by detecting the characteristic excitation emission of the element (ICPOES), or directing the ions into a mass spectrometer (ICPMS).
Inductively Coupled Plasma - Optical Emission Spectroscopy ICPOES (also known as ICPAES, "Inductively Coupled Plasma - Atomic Emission Spectroscopy") is one of the most commonly used techniques for the determination of trace concentrations of elements in samples. The detection limits are generally in the ppb range. The upper limit for a particular emission line is usually 104 to 106 times the detection limits. The precision of the analysis is usually in the 1-2% RSD range. Better precision can be obtained with trade-offs in speed. The technique is capable of multi-element, qualitative and quantitative analyses. The versatility of ICPAES makes it a good analytical technique for a wide variety of applications, e.g.:
Agricultural samples and foods
Biological and Clinical
Geological
Environmental
Metals
Organics
Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (ICPMS) provides information for each atomic mass unit (amu) in the mass region of 5-270 amu. The isotope information can be used for isotope ratio measurements and analysis of samples having unnatural isotope abundances. The detection limits of this technique are impressive; < 1ppt for most elements in simple solution. It is mainly used for trace/ultra trace analyses where ICPOES does not have the required detection limits.
Speciation and trace analysis of total carbon and nitrogen in water samples, such as drinking water, is available using the Liquid Chromatography - Organic Carbon (LC-OCD). The system uses size-exclusion chromatography to separate classes of dissolved organic materials (such as humic acids) then uses a catalysed UV oxidation to measure low levels of total carbon in the eluent.
The laboratory also operates a Flow Injection Analyser with an autosampler. This instrument enables high throughput spectrophotometric analysis, and currently has manifolds enabling analysis of ammonia and nitrates. In addition to the FIA, we operate a Dionex ion chromatography system with autosampler which enables rapid separation and sensitive analysis of a range of common inorganic anions.
Our sample preparation laboratories include facilities for difficult samples (HF plus microwave digestion) and ICP instruments for rapid detection of trace elements.
Are you a UNSW researcher who would like to use the ICP lab? View our Sample Submission Form . If there are large numbers of samples to analyse, it may be possible for you to undergo training to use one of the instruments. Training should be discussed with Rabeya Akter or Dorothy Yu . If instrument training is a practical option then you should complete our Registration Form and bring it with you to the laboratory on the training date.
External Partners with SSEAU ICP Laboratory:
Our ICP laboratory has an industry partner that helps expose UNSW staff and students to state-of-the-art analytical instrumentation and offers specialised training courses within the Analytical Centre.
Other Elemental Analysis Facilities within UNSW:
The UNSW Water Research Centre operates a wide range of instrumentation specific to water analysis, including measurement of inorganics by ICP, and organics by GC and LC and mass spectrometry.
