Analyzing Mercury Isotopes: A SciX Interview with Frank Vanhaecke, Part 1

This year, the SciX Conference will take place in Raleigh, North Carolina, from October 20th and 25th (1).

Frank Vanhaecke is a researcher at Ghent University in Belgium, where he leads the Atomic & Mass Spectrometry Research Group. Recently, he and his team developed an innovative method for direct isotopic analysis of mercury (Hg) in solid samples without the need for prior treatment (2). They modified an existing Hg combustion analyzer by integrating it with multi-collector inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (MC-ICP-MS), allowing for more accurate mercury analysis (2). This method uses cold vapor atomic absorption spectroscopy (CVAAS) for detection (2). For the MC-ICP-MS Integration, Hg is first detected by CVAAS; then the mercury vapor is ionized in the inductively coupled plasma (ICP) of the MC-ICP-MS instrument. The plasma ionizes the mercury atoms, which are then separated based on their mass-to-charge (m/z) ratios in a multi-collector mass spectrometer. The MC-ICP-MS measures the isotope ratios of mercury with high precision, providing more detailed isotopic information than CVAAS alone.

Vanhaecke was awarded the 2023 Theophilus Redwood Prize from the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) for his outstanding contributions to analytical chemistry. He has authored or co-authored approximately 500 papers in peer-reviewed journals, with his research garnering over 18,000 citations (h-index 65) according to Web of Science, and over 26,000 citations (h-index 79) according to Google Scholar (2). He has supervised 51 PhD students to successful completion.

Throughout his career, Vanhaecke has received several prestigious awards, including the European Plasma Spectrochemistry Award (2011), the Fellow of the Society for Applied Spectroscopy (2013), the Lester Strock Award (2017), and most recently, the Theophilus Redwood Award from the Royal Society of Chemistry (2023) (2). He is also actively involved in editorial and advisory roles, including being a member of the editorial board of the Journal of Analytical Atomic Spectrometry (JAAS), where he served as chair from 2012 to 2016, and the international advisory board of Spectrochimica Acta (2).

He is scheduled to deliver a plenary lecture and chair a symposium at the upcoming SciX conference, where he will talk about elemental mapping using laser ablation–inductively coupled plasma–mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) (2).

• Can you talk about the challenges of analyzing mercury (Hg), especially Hg isotopes?
• Why is the accurate analysis of mercury in solid samples important?
• On Monday October 21st, you are set to deliver a talk about improved elemental mapping using LA-ICP-MS, single-cell ICP-MS, and high-precision isotopic analysis in a biomedical context. Can you offer our readers a preview of what they can expect from your talk?
• In your opinion, what have been the biggest advancements in high-precision isotopic analysis in the biomedical field recently?

To view the rest of our coverage of the upcoming SciX 2024 Conference, click here: https://www.spectroscopyonline.com/conferences/scix

References

1. FACSS, FACSS Presents SciX 2024. SciX Conference. Available at: https://scixconference.org/ (accessed 2024-10-11).
2. Chasse, J. A Combustion-Based Sample Introduction System for Direct Isotopic Analysis of Mercury in Solid Samples via Multi-Collector ICP-Mass Spectrometry: An Interview with Theophilus Redwood Prize Winner Frank Vanhaecke. Spectroscopy. Available at: https://www.spectroscopyonline.com/view/a-combustion-based-sample-introduction-system-for-direct-isotopic-analysis-of-mercury-in-solid-samples-via-multi-collector-icp-mass-spectrometry-an-interview-with-theophilus-redwood-prize-winner-frank-vanhaecke (accessed 2024-10-02).