Production and certification of Pd and Pt single spikes
- So-called spikes are solutions of isotopically enriched elements, which are used in isotope dilution mass spectrometry (IDMS) for the accurate quantification of element concentrations. Based on its proven records, especially in reference material certification IDMS is considered as one of the most powerful and most accurate methods for determining amounts of substance. Contrary to other calibration approaches, IDMS does not directly suffer from long-time changes or drifts in instrument sensitivity. Moreover, provided isotopic exchange between the sample and spike is ensured, losses of analyte do not affect the analytical result. Both advantages are based on the fact that largely unaffected by instrumental drift, setup or by matrix, unless an isobaric interference is present.