Premium
Stable carbon isotope analyses of nanogram quantities of particulate organic carbon (pollen) with laser ablation nano combustion gas chromatography/isotope ratio mass spectrometry
Author(s) -
Roij Linda,
Sluijs Appy,
Laks Jelmer J.,
Reichart GertJan
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
rapid communications in mass spectrometry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.528
H-Index - 136
eISSN - 1097-0231
pISSN - 0951-4198
DOI - 10.1002/rcm.7769
Subject(s) - isotope ratio mass spectrometry , mass spectrometry , isotopes of carbon , chemistry , combustion , analytical chemistry (journal) , carbon fibers , laser ablation , isotope , isotope analysis , environmental chemistry , total organic carbon , laser , chromatography , materials science , geology , optics , organic chemistry , oceanography , quantum mechanics , composite number , composite material , physics
Rationale Analyses of stable carbon isotope ratios ( δ 13 C values) of organic and inorganic matter remains have been instrumental for much of our understanding of present and past environmental and biological processes. Until recently, the analytical window of such analyses has been limited to samples containing at least several μg of carbon. Methods Here we present a setup combining laser ablation, nano combustion gas chromatography and isotope ratio mass spectrometry (LA/nC/GC/IRMS). A deep UV (193 nm) laser is used for optimal fragmentation of organic matter with minimum fractionation effects and an exceptionally small ablation chamber and combustion oven are used to reduce the minimum sample mass requirement compared with previous studies. Results Analyses of the international IAEA CH‐7 polyethylene standard show optimal accuracy, and precision better than 0.5‰, when measuring at least 42 ng C. Application to untreated modern Eucalyptus globulus (C 3 plant) and Zea mays (C 4 plant) pollen grains shows a ~ 16‰ offset between these species. Within each single Z. mays pollen grain, replicate analyses show almost identical δ 13 C values. Conclusions Isotopic offsets between individual pollen grains exceed analytical uncertainties, therefore probably reflecting interspecimen variability of ~0.5–0.9‰. These promising results set the stage for investigating both δ 13 C values and natural carbon isotopic variability between single specimens of a single population of all kinds of organic particles yielding tens of nanograms of carbon. © 2016 The Authors. Rapid Communications in Mass Spectrometry Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.