The precise and accurate determination of isotopic and elemental compositions of samples by mass spectrometry is paramount in several research fields such as geoscience, environmental science, biology or the nuclear field. In order to avoid spectral or non-spectral interferences, it is necessary to perform chemical separations steps prior to analysis by mass spectrometry. In most cases, those separations are performed by liquid chromatography. Electrokinetic separation methods are particularly suitable to perform those separations due to the small volume of sample required and the small volume of waste produced, in the nL and µL range, respectively.
The main objective of this post-doctoral work is to integrate electrokinetic separations, presently performed in a glass capillary, in an analytical microsystem. This analytical microsystem, based on the microfluidic technology, will be used for the separation of elements and has to be hyphenated to an MC-ICP-MS without degrading the separation. The output of this work is an automated device capable of increasing throughput while keeping the same analytical performance as the original method. For nuclear samples, the device will reduce the dose received and the production of waste associated with the analytical protocol.