Purchase of a Laser Ablation - Inductively Coupled Plasma - Mass Spectrometer (LA-ICP-MS)

Mississippi State University, Mississippi State MS

Investigators

Abstract

With support from the Chemistry Research Instrumentation and Facilities: Multiuser Instrumentation Acquisition (CRIF:MU) Program, the Department of Chemistry at Mississippi State University will purchase a laser ablation - inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometer (LA-ICP-MS). This equipment will enhance research in a number of areas including 1) the analysis of the composition of wsteforms produced with different stabilizers and processes in nuclear waste stabilization studies; 2) monitoring of soil composition in phytoremediation processes; 3) the determination of glaze and clay composition in modern and archeological pottery; 4) the detection of impurities in semiconductors materials; 5) the determination of leaching of metal ions from bone replacement and dental implants into surrounding tissues; and 6) the determination of the exact composition of aluminum alloys, to predict their properties. Mass spectrometry (MS) is a technique used to probe intimate structural details and to obtain the molecular compositions of a vast array of organic, bioorganic, and organometallic molecules. These studies will have a significant impact in environmental sciences and biochemistry.