Laser ablation – a mature technique for analysis of solid samples

Today the vast majority of ICPMS analysis is performed in solution mode, however, very few of the samples analyzed are liquids to start with and have to be acid-digested and diluted before analysis can take place.

Laser ablation has been developed over nearly three decades to become a mature technique that provides the opportunity to sample rapidly directly from the solid material with little-to-no sample preparation. Like solution analysis laser ablation is capable of high-throughput automation of hundreds of samples per day, but unlike solution analysis it can also create micron-scale images of the distribution of elements through a sample. No other sample technique has such range of capability.

In this webinar we will set the stage for an open Q&A by introducing the benefits of laser ablation for many types of elemental analysis.

Presenter: Rob Hutchinson, PhD (Senior Product Specialist, Elemental Scientific Lasers)

Rob trained as an analytical chemist and did his PhD in bio-imaging via LA-ICP-MS at the University of Sheffield in the UK. Since 2005 he has been the senior global application specialist in laser ablation at Elemental Scientific (formerly New Wave Research).

Presenter: L. Craig Jones (ICP-MS Application Scientist, Agilent Technologies, Inc.)

Craig has been with Agilent for over 15 years as an ICP-MS applications scientist. He has been involved with multiple type of applications for ICP-MS, including environmental, pharmaceutical, nutraceutical, semiconductor, geologic, and clinical analyses, to name a few. Previous to Agilent he worked in an environmental lab performing analysis and supervising both the inorganic and organic sections of the laboratory. In his spare time, Craig enjoys volunteering at the local marine science center, mountain biking, hiking and relaxing at the beach. Craig obtained a bachelor of science degree in chemistry from Fort Lewis College in Durango, CO.