Microcolumn high pressure liquid chromatography (micro-HPLC) is rapidly gaining recognition as a practical separation tool for organometallic compounds. The use of the inductively coupled plasma (ICP) as a detector for micro-HPLC is studied. Several miniaturized glass-frit nebulizers are investigated as interfaces between the output of the microbore column and the ICP torch. Their performance with aqueous and methanolic solutions is evaluated by direct nebulization and flow injection analysis. The most efficient of these nebulizers is used in the micro-HPLC/ICP study of some Cd, Pb, and Zn organometallic compounds. Detection limits of 1.92 ng of Pb for tetramethyllead and 5.01 ng of Pb for tetraethyllead are obtained and compared with regular HPLC/ICP of these same compounds. Approximately equivalent detection limits were obtained when using a microwave induced plasma as an alternate plasma source.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.