About this Research Topic
The goal of this article collection is to compile methods for sample collection and preparation encompassing a wide variety of samples, especially natural samples: soil, sediment, rock, ground water, riverine water, water samples with high salinity, bones, biomonitoring matrices like algae, moss, lichen, etc., or any other geological matrices. Samples like fossil, or deep-sea sediments, manganese nodules, etc., are also in the purview of this collection. Though both ICPMS and AMS are state-of-art instruments, but the sample introduction system is weakest in both the cases. Different matrices have to be pre-treated differently. Moreover, the pre-treatment also depends on the analyte of interest. For instance, to trace minuscule amount of 182Hf, produced in supernova by r-process and kept in natural reservoir like Mn-nodule in deep sea sediment, one has to get rid of its naturally occurring stable isobar 182W, which is million times more abundant.
We welcome Original Research, Review, Mini Review and Perspective articles on themes including, but not limited to:
• Archaeological sample preparation for AMS and ICPMS measurements
• Geological sample preparation for AMS and ICPMS measurements
• Water sample preparation for ICPMS
• Biological samples preparation for ICPMS
Keywords: accelerator mass spectrometry; ultra-trace analysis; sample preparation; deep sea sample preparation; biological sample preparation; AMS; ICPMS
Important Note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.