A Review of MC-ICP-MS Fe Isotope Analytical Methods

The use of multi-collector inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (MC-ICP-MS) paved the way in the stable isotope analysis of metals, promoting the rapid development of non-traditional stable isotope geochemistry, among which, Fe isotope has received the greatest attention. This surge of study has been fueled largely by the redox-sensitive nature of iron as well as its availability in life. The research on the distribution and isotopic compositions of iron has covered almost all sub-branches of earth science, ranging from biochemistry to geochemistry. The MC-ICP-MS instrument has been demonstrated to be very efficient in determining trace element compositions in a wide variety of applications. However, many questions, such as chemical purification, mass bias correction and efficiently avoid of matrix effects, remain challenging.