A comparison of double-focusing sector field ICP-MS, ICP-OES and octopole collision cell ICP-MS for the high-accuracy determination of calcium in human serum.

Human serum is routinely measured for total calcium content in clinical studies. A definitive high-accuracy and low-uncertainty method is required for reference measurements to underpin medical diagnoses. This study presents a novel octopole collision cell ICP-MS, high-accuracy, methodology and comparison of that technique with double-focusing sector field ICP-MS and an ICP-OES method.

Production and certification of four frozen human serum certified reference materials containing creatinine and electrolytes.

Background: This paper describes the preparation, analysis and certification of four frozen human serum certified reference materials (CRMs) containing creatinine and the electrolytes calcium, lithium, magnesium, potassium and sodium. These materials have been prepared to give concentrations of these analytes that cover the currently accepted analytical range.

Methods: The analysis of the materials for certification purposes has been carried out using methodology traceable to primary standards, and which is acceptable as a reference method.

Use of elemental analysis to determine comparative performance of established DNA quantification methods.

Quantification of genomic DNA is critical for many analyses in molecular biology. Current methods include optical density (OD) measurements or fluorescent enhancement but both approaches have limitations on achievable accuracy. In this study we performed an elemental analysis to quantify genomic DNA to provide an independent value for comparing the performance of four quantification methods.

Quantitative analysis of iron-containing protein myoglobin in different foodstuffs by liquid chromatography coupled to high-resolution inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry.

Quantitative determination was made of the iron-containing protein myoglobin in a range of different foods, including meat, processed meat, fish, and shellfish, by liquid chromatography coupled to a double-focusing sector field inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). The concentration of myoglobin determined in the samples ranged from 0 to 6.5 mg/kg, and the analytical precision (coefficient of variation) for the analysis of 8 replicate raw steak extracts was 2.