Contamination Control During Sample Preparation for Trace Element Analysis of Electronic Cigarette Aerosol with Inductively Coupled Plasma-Mass Spectrometry, Part 1

In this two-part article, the authors take a look at the major factors affecting background contamination in inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS), particularly when measuring ultratrace elements in specialty applications such as aerosol matrices from electronic cigarettes and electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS). In order to obtain meaningful data, the analyst must understand and address the magnitude and variability of environmental contamination by ubiquitous trace metals during the sample preparation procedure. The impact of these contaminants on the procedural blank and the associated impact on the accuracy and precision of sample results can unfortunately lead to false positive results.