A review on the mass spectrometric studies of americium: Present status and future perspective.

The manuscript reviews the various mass spectrometric techniques for analysis and chemical studies of Americium. These methods include thermal ionization mass spectrometry (TIMS), and inductively coupled plasma source mass spectrometry (ICPMS) for the determination of Am isotope ratios and concentration in nuclear fuel samples of interest in nuclear technology, and in complex biological and environmental samples. Ultra-sensitive mass spectrometric techniques of resonance-ionization mass spectrometry (RIMS), and accelerator-based mass spectrometry (AMS) are also discussed.

A review on the determination of isotope ratios of boron with mass spectrometry.

The present review discusses different mass spectrometric techniques-viz, thermal ionization mass spectrometry (TIMS), inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICPMS), and secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS)-used to determine B/ B isotope ratio, and concentration of boron required for various applications in earth sciences, marine geochemistry, nuclear technology, environmental, and agriculture sciences, etc. The details of the techniques-P-TIMS, which uses Cs BO , N-TIMS, which uses BO , and MC-ICPMS, which uses B ions for bulk analysis or B and B ions for in situ micro-analysis with SIMS-are highlighted. The capabilities, advantages, limitations, and problems in each mass spectrometric technique are summarized.

Boron and strontium isotope ratios and major/trace elements concentrations in tea leaves at four major tea growing gardens in Taiwan.

Isotopic compositions of B and Sr in rocks and sediments can be used as tracers for plant provincial sources. This study aims to test whether tea leaf origin can be discriminated using (10)B/(11)B and Sr isotopic composition data, along with concentrations of major/trace elements, in tea specimens collected from major plantation gardens in Taiwan. The tea leaves were digested by microwave and analyzed by multi-collector inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (MC-ICPMS).

High precision isotope ratio measurements on by thermal ionization mass spectrometry using ion.

Studies were carried out to determine the 10B/11B isotope ratio by positive thermal ionization mass spectrometry (P-TIMS) analyzing boron as rubidium borate ions. Of the 36 different ionic species formed, the boron and rubidium isotope ratios were obtained from the ion intensity ratios of the most suitable ion pairs corresponding to masses 212, 213 and 215, 213 respectively. The investigations were carried out to explore the possibility of correcting the observed isotope ratio of boron by using a modified internal normalization technique based on the observed Rb isotope ratio.

Direct separation of boron from Na- and Ca-rich matrices by sublimation for stable isotope measurement by MC-ICP-MS.

An improved technique for precise and accurate determination of boron isotopic composition in Na-rich natural waters (groundwater, seawater) and marine biogenic carbonates was developed. This study used a 'micro-sublimation' technique to separate B from natural sample matrices in place of the conventional ion-exchange extraction. By adjusting analyte to appropriate pH, quantitative recovery of boron can be achieved (>98%) and the B procedural blank is limited to <8 pg.

Determination of thorium and uranium in solution by laser-induced breakdown spectrometry.

Laser-induced breakdown spectrometry (LIBS) has been successfully developed to quantify thorium (Th) and uranium (U) in solution using membrane-based filter paper as a sample support. The filter paper is easy to handle and the entire analysis process takes only a few minutes for each sample. The developed method provides a practical approach for fast and sensitive determination of actinides in aqueous solutions using LIBS.