Heavy Metals & Elemental Screening

Trace metal contamination is hard to catch by eye. A compound can look clean, dissolve clearly and still carry residual elements from starting materials, reagents, catalysts, glassware or the manufacturing environment. Some matter at very low concentrations, which is why elemental screening is a separate test rather than part of a general purity check.

What the screen measures

The screen quantifies individual elements, typically reported as a concentration (for example µg/g) against a defined threshold. The standard technique is inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS): the sample is digested into solution, introduced into a high-temperature argon plasma, and the resulting ions are sorted and counted by mass. ICP-MS measures many elements in one run and reaches low detection levels.

Which elements, and why

Typically screened: the classic toxic metals arsenic, cadmium, lead and mercury; catalyst-related elements (platinum, palladium, nickel, chromium and others) that point back to the synthesis route; and further elements where the source materials make a route of entry plausible. A pass against a stated threshold means the measured elements sat below the limits applied; each element carries its own detection limit, so “not detected” means below that sensitivity.

To arrange testing, see submit a sample.