Laser ablation elemental imaging is an exciting and rapidly evolving field with a wide range of applications. These include tissue analysis, cancer research, advancements in cellular biology, geochemical analysis, forensic science, and materials science. One of the primary challenges in maintaining high duty cycle efficiency with quadrupole ICP-MS is the settling time required between each isotope of interest. This settling time creates a gap during which the sample is ablated without generating corresponding data. Minimising this loss of information is crucial for achieving high spatial resolution and providing meaningful analytical results.

To successfully implement laser ablation elemental imaging, three additional challenges must be addressed:

1. Removal of Polyatomic Interferences

While obtaining results for specific elements may seem straightforward, ensuring the reliability of that data is paramount. For instance, phosphorus at m/z 31 can be significantly affected by polyatomic interferences from various species, such as ¹⁴N¹⁶O1H⁺, ¹⁵N¹⁵N¹H⁺, ¹⁵N¹⁶O⁺, ¹⁴N¹⁷O⁺, ¹³C¹⁸O⁺, and ¹²C¹⁸O¹H⁺. Effectively mitigating these interferences is essential to avoid biased results.

2. Dynamic Range of the Spectrometer

Another challenge lies in the dynamic range capabilities of the spectrometer. It is common to encounter scenarios where some elements are present at trace concentrations while others exist at much higher levels. The ICP-MS must be equipped to handle these dynamic range variations effectively.

3. Calibration Complexity

Calibration poses its own set of challenges. For certain sample matrices, obtaining certified, matrix-matched calibration standards is relatively straightforward. However, for others, innovative approaches are necessary to ensure accurate and trustworthy quantitative results.

This investigation will share results from the use of a Teledyne Iridia 193 nm laser with a PerkinElmer NexION 5000 ICP-MS for bioimaging applications. We will detail the various optimisation processes that were undertaken to enhance the performance and accuracy of this setup. By sharing our results, we hope to provide insights into how this combination of technologies can be leveraged to improve bioimaging techniques and contribute to advancements in our understanding of biological processes.