The multi-collector inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometer is an instrument suited to measuring sulfur isotopes in all types of samples, from ice cores and river waters to carbonates and Archaean rocks. Its main advantage is the more convenient method of sample preparation, as sulfate does not need to be reduced but purified from the sample through ion exchange. This method allows the measurement of unbiased and precise δ³⁴S values from samples as small as 10-nmol with a typical intermediate precision of 0.15‰ (2s) at 95% confidence. So far, no attempt has been made to understand at which levels of analytical precision and bias MC-ICP-MS could provide ∆³³S values. Here, the first standard addition experiment undertaken for ∆³³S evaluation shows that measurement results on a Neptune Plus MC-ICP-MS allows us to calculate ∆³³S values identical to those established by other measurement principles, for samples down to 30 nmol S, with an intermediate precision as good as 0.05‰ (2s). Though this precision is not as good as the analytical precision of data acquired by the SF₆ method, the advantages of small sample size and straightforward sample handling make it a very useful tool for investigating past and modern aspects of the sulfur cycle.

中文翻译：

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使用低至 30 nmol 的硫通过 MC-ICP-MS 测定无偏 δ34S 和 Δ33S 值

多接收器电感耦合等离子体质谱仪是一种适合测量所有类型样品中硫同位素的仪器，从冰芯和河水到碳酸盐和太古宙岩石。其主要优点是样品制备方法更加方便，因为不需要还原硫酸盐，而是通过离子交换从样品中纯化硫酸盐。该方法可以从小至 10 nmol 的样品中测量无偏且精确的 δ ^{34 S 值，典型中间精度为 0.15‰ (2} s )，置信度为 95%。到目前为止，尚未尝试了解 MC-ICP-MS 在何种水平的分析精度和偏差下可以提供Δ ³³ S 值。这里，针对Δ ³³ S 评估进行的第一个标准添加实验表明，对于低至 30 nmol S 的样品，Neptune Plus MC-ICP-MS 上的测量结果使我们能够计算出与其他测量原理建立的值相同的Δ ³³ S 值，中间精度可达0.05‰（2秒）。虽然这种精度不如 SF ₆方法获得的数据的分析精度，但样本量小和样品处理简单的优点使其成为研究硫循环的过去和现代方面的非常有用的工具。