text: As with any piece of instrumentation or equipment, there are many aspects of maintenance that need to be encompassed by daily, weekly and annual procedures.  The frequency of maintenance is typically determined by the sample volume and cumulative run time that the instrument is subjected to.
  One of the first things that should be carried out before the calibration of the ICP-MS is a sensitivity check and optimization.  This ensures that the operator is aware of any possible issues with the instrument and if so, may address them before beginning a calibration.  Typical indicators of sensitivity are Rhodium levels, Cerium/Oxide ratios and DI water blanks. One common standard practice is to measure a standard tuning solution provided by the ICP manufacturer every time the plasma torch is started. Then the instrument is auto-calibrated for optimum sensitivity and the operator obtains a report providing certain parameters such as sensitivity, mass resolution and estimated amount of oxidized species and double-positive charged species.
  One of the most frequent forms of routine maintenance is replacing sample and waste tubing on the peristaltic pump, as these tubes can get worn fairly quickly resulting in holes and clogs in the sample line, resulting in skewed results.  Other parts that will need regular cleaning and/or replacing are sample tips, nebulizer tips, sample cones, skimmer cones, injector tubes, torches and lenses.  It may also be necessary to change the oil in the interface roughing pump as well as the vacuum backing pump, depending on the workload put on the instrument.