(Thermo Fisher Scientific: Cambridge, UK) -- Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc., recently announced a new application note to illustrate the capabilities of its Thermo Scientific iCAP 6200 ICP spectrometer for the analysis of toxic trace elements in children’s toys. The dual-view inductively coupled plasma (ICP) instrument offers preoptimized sample introduction settings and analysis-ready software method templates. The new application note, entitled “Analysis of migratory elements in toy samples using the Thermo Scientific iCAP 6200 ICP spectrometer,” assesses the performance of the iCAP 6200 ICP for the routine analysis of toy samples for consumer safety verification. It is available for download in the literature library at www.thermo.com/icap.

Manufacturers routinely analyze toy samples for toxic trace elements but recent cases of contaminated toys suggest that heavy metals are still present in all consumer products. This has resulted in an increasing number of toy producers opting to perform in-house testing to ensure compliance with current regulations and protect consumers. For many, in-house testing can be less costly than outsourced analysis. Currently, many regulations worldwide are based on a test method that monitors the levels of trace elements migrating from a toy material into an acidic solution. This simulates the release of elements when toy components are ingested by a child.

 …