Flow techniques in the analysis of biological samples by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry - a review

Biological samples such as blood, urine, and cerebrospinal fluid are a valuable source of knowledge about the patient's health condition, and their analysis, for example, allows for the identification of metabolic pathways and xenobiotic transport mechanisms. The most powerful tool used for elemental analysis of these specimens is inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). Unfortunately, the complex matrix of biological samples often necessitates their special preparation before measurements, which lengthens the analysis time and increases the chances of sample contamination. Moreover, the volume of biological samples is usually limited, while their number in clinical laboratories is vast. The use of flow techniques for sample preparation and introduction into a spectrometer can alleviate many difficulties arising in ICP-MS analysis and make it more attractive, undemanding, and fast. This review aims to present and discuss selected literature examples of different flow analysis techniques coupled with ICP-MS in various biological sample analyses, with a special focus on the benefits of using such a connection. Our work presents numerous examples where coupling flow techniques with ICP-MS enabled obtaining promising results in biological sample analyses. Yet, such a connection is not commonly applied, and we hope to encourage scientists to benefit from it.