Bruker’s aurora Elite - the most sensitive ICP-MS available

In February 2013 Bruker continued the company’s aggressive new product development program by launching the new aurora Elite, an ultra-sensitive Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometer (ICP-MS). Complementing the updated workhorse aurora M90 ICP-MS designed for high productivity, routine laboratory analysis, the new Elite model sets unprecedented and truly exceptional standards for sensitivity and matrix robustness. The impressive sensitivity levels are the highest of any commercially available ICP-MS instrument even exceeding the signal to noise performance of expensive magnetic sector field ICP-MS systems.

The aurora Elite boasts a host of performance enhancements and new features, with unprecedented 1.5 billion counts per second per parts per million (1.5 Gcps /ppm) sensitivity for precise and accurate measurements at single digit ppt levels and below, which makes the aurora Elite the most sensitive ICP-MS instrument on the market. 

Like the M90, the Elite utilizes a true 27.12MHz RF generator that is crystal controlled to ensure the ultimate in frequency stability. The rapid matching network ensures superb robustness even when switching from aqueous to organic matrices while ensuring that the radio frequency is maintained.

The Turner interlaced RF coil ensures a very tight control on ion energies and works in conjunction with Bruker’s patented 3D ion mirror for a highly efficient transfer of ions to the quadrupole. The Turner interlaced coil and 3D ion mirror also combine with the second generation Collision Reaction Interface (CRI II) for easy and efficient interference management without having to focus ions into a pressurized “cell”.

The research grade quadrupole operated at an RF drive frequency of exactly 3.0MHz ensures ions are separated according to mass to charge ratio efficiently without loss of transmission. The unique plasma sampling and ion focusing in conjunction with the high frequency quadrupole produce superb peak shapes and very low abundance sensitivity making it the perfect choice for measuring trace amounts in complicated matrices. The quadrupole on the new Elite is fast offering a minimum dwell time of 100µsec and operates at a scan rate of 7400 amu/sec.

The combination of high sensitivity with the all-digital detector delivers excellent isotope ratio performance at low concentrations and for large ratios, and this is true for liquids and solids.  The combination of huge sensitivity with very fast quadrupole makes the aurora Elite an ideal instrument for the characterisation of nanoparticles at the smallest dimensions. When coupled to laser ablation devices, aurora Elite becomes an ultra-sensitive detector for material ablated by single digit µm laser beams - expanding the range for e.g. biological imaging or advanced material research.

The newly expanded ICP-MS range from Bruker also offer 21 CFR Part 11 compliance to meet the requirements of pharmaceutical, biotech and CRO customers.

The Elite product video explains more about the instrument and its applications. For more details and ordering information, contact your local Bruker representative.