Concentrations of toxic elements in foods are present at trace to ultra-trace levels, requiring sensitive and reliable analytical techniques for accurate measurement. ICP-MS is a powerful technique with multi-element detection capabilities, low detection limits, high speed of analysis, and wide linear dynamic range, among many other advantages. However, as with any analytical technique, it is susceptible to interferences, such as those arising in the plasma from the plasma gases, the surrounding atmosphere, and the matrix, leading to the formation of polyatomic and doubly-charged ions.
In this work, the analysis of toxic elements in various food matrices following AOAC 2015.01 was validated using the NexION® 2000 ICP-MS, thanks to its Universal Cell Technology that can run in Collision mode with kinetic energy discrimination as well as Reaction mode with dynamic bandpass tuning and the ability to use reactive gases to remove polyatomic interferences.