The contribution of inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry to biomedical research

The most striking features of inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) are its superior sensitivity for a wide range of elements and its capability to determine the isotope composition of a sample using less cumbersome pretreatment procedures than other mass spectrometry techniques. Both these capabilities have been exploited in biomedical research. The application of ICP-MS to samples of body fluids and tissues extends the investigation of reference values and biological role to elements present at the ultra-trace level, The availability of simplified methods for the determination of isotope ratios in biological samples allows a more extensive use of stable isotopes as tracers to study mineral metabolism in man, overcoming the restrictions due to safety concerns and short lifetime of radioisotopes. The high sample throughput of ICP-MS significantly increases the information available. for kinetic models in human nutrition and toxicology. By means of on-line coupling with chromatographic techniques, such information could be further extended to the speciation of minerals and their time-dependent biochemical transformations. Multielemental metabolic studies could be performed, taking advantage of the capability of ICP-MS for simultaneous determinations. Finally, the development of high accuracy methods based on isotopic dilution and ICP-MS is important to improve the reliability of analytical data and for the certification of reference and control materials. (C) 1996 Academic Press, Inc.