Showing papers by "Damiano Monticelli published in 2009"
TL;DR: This review intends to show through the applications found in the literature how valuable is the contribution of LA-ICP-MS in the investigation of ancient materials such as obsidian, glass, pottery, human remains, written heritage, metal objects and miscellaneous stone materials.
98 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, an empirical approach is presented for validating trace metal profiles in tree rings for use as environmental archives. But the results are limited to tree rings and lake sediments.
Abstract: An empirical approach is presented for validating trace metal profiles in tree rings for use as environmental archives. Concentration profiles of Zn, Cd, Cu, Pb and U in tree rings and lake sediments are compared for assessing the reliability of the former as an environmental proxy. Laser ablation sampling in conjunction with inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA–ICP–MS) is used for the direct analysis of tree rings. An optimised analytical protocol is devised with particular emphasis on sample preparation and quantification strategy. Significant correlations in the two environmental archives were found for zinc, copper and uranium, while cadmium and lead temporal trends, although showing enrichment in recent years, do not agree with the concentration profiles in lacustrine sediment cores. A chemical model based on metal affinity for hard type ligands present in wood is proposed to explain these results. Moreover, spring and winter wood are analysed separately thanks to the high spatial resolution of laser ablation sampling. As a result, enhanced metal loadings are shown to lead to intraring differences in trace metal concentrations.
34 citations
TL;DR: In this article, a low-transport-time cell for laser ablation is presented, where the particles are transported by a laminar spiral gas flow into the outlet without any contact with the cell walls.
Abstract: A new simple design of a high-efficiency low-transport-time cell for laser ablation is presented. The main feature of the design is that the particles are transported by a laminar spiral gas flow into the outlet without any contact with the cell walls. The efficiency of the particle transport and the dependence of the ICP-MS peak shape on experimental conditions were measured. The peak duration on the 10% level was found to be as short as 30 ms and the transport efficiency reached 100% when analysing a standard brass sample. As an example of application to real samples with fine inhomogeneities, the profiles of 13C, 44Ca and 208Pb were measured by LA-ICP-MS across a tree core. As a result, the very quick particle transport time of the cell enabled the fine, seasonal variation in wood composition to be resolved.
11 citations