A moderate microsampling in Laser Ablation Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry analysis of cultural heritage objects: a review

Laser Ablation Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) is one of modern instrumental methods whose usage in the elemental analysis of cultural heritage objects has recently noticeably increased. The method requires almost no sample preparation and permits the direct analysis of solid samples, availing only minute amount of the material. Although they seem to be microdestructive, ablation processes remain usually within the scale acceptable for art historians, conservators, archaeologists and art curators; therefore, the capability to perform a multi-elemental, ultra trace and isotopic analysis can be introduced to studies of cultural heritage objects. The lack of appropriate matrix-matched certified reference materials or fractionation effects influencing the final quantitative results to a different extent is widely reported among the main limitations of LA-ICP-MS. Despite these constrains, LA-ICP-MS is a method that can be flexibly tuned to collect the desired elemental information and this paper brings together information about the successful application of this method in the analysis of diverse historical materials enabling researchers to build valuable knowledge about cultural heritage objects from all over the world