Inductively coupled plasma – Tandem mass spectrometry (ICP-MS/MS): A powerful and universal tool for the interference-free determination of (ultra)trace elements – A tutorial review

•First review on tandem ICP-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS/MS).•Clear description of operating principles of ICP-MS/MS.•Description on how to make use of product ion scans, precursor ion scans and neutral gain scans in method development.•Overview of applications published so far.

This paper is intended as a tutorial review on the use of inductively coupled plasma – tandem mass spectrometry (ICP-MS/MS) for the interference-free quantitative determination and isotope ratio analysis of metals and metalloids in different sample types. Attention is devoted both to the instrumentation and to some specific tools and procedures available for advanced method development. Next to the more typical reaction gases, e.g., H2, O2 and NH3, also the use of promising alternative gases, such as CH3F, is covered, and the possible reaction pathways with those reactive gases are discussed. A variety of published applications relying on the use of ICP-MS/MS are described, to illustrate the added value of tandem mass spectrometry in (ultra)trace analysis.

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