Determination of Phosphorus by Inductively-Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry

Abstract

Determination of P by inductively-coupled plasma MS is complicated by spectral interference of polyatomic ions. In this work the possibility of P determination in biological samples was tested. P was determined as P⁺ and PO⁺ ion. Formation of PO⁺ ions was supported by the reaction with oxygen in a dynamic reaction cell with optimized parameters. The measurements show smaller interference of P⁺ than that of PO⁺. The use of a dynamic reaction cell did not lead to improvement of measured parameters. The limit of detection and linearity of calibration curve were determined for this method. Its accuracy was verified by analysis of certified reference skim milk powder and bean samples.