Evaluation of the accuracy of the determination of lead isotope ratios in wine by ICP MS using quadrupole, multicollector magnetic sector and time-of-flight analyzers

Different mass analysers [(quadrupole (Q), time-of-flight (TOF) and multicollector (MC) sector-field (SF)] of ions produced in an inductively coupled plasma were evaluated for the determination of lead isotope ratios in wine samples. A population of 20 wines of different origin including two reference wines from the EC Standards, Measurement and Testing Programme with concentrations varying between 7–140 μg Pb l−1 was investigated. Wines were analyzed directly by Q ICP MS and MC ICP MS. The poor sensitivity of the TOF instrument, further aggravated by matrix signal suppression, did not allow the acquisition of data for wine samples that contained less than 50 μg l−1 in the direct sample introduction mode. The separation and preconcentration of lead were therefore required. The precision obtained for the 206Pb/207Pb and 208Pb/206Pb were similar and equal to 0.14–2.7% for Q ICP MS, 0.04–0.17% for TOF ICP MS and 0.01–0.12% for MC ICP MS. The precision for 206Pb/204Pb was 0.44–5.29, 0.15–1.7, 0.08–1.6%, respectively. On the level of accuracy, the data from TOF ICP MS and MC ICP MS were in good agreement. The accuracy of Q ICP MS data was judged satisfactory in comparison with the other techniques but their poor precision was a significant obstacle on the way of using these data for the determination of the geographic origin of wine.