QUICK NEBULIZER SELECTION CRITERIA

In general, the PEEK Mira Mist is the correct nebulizer. For some cases you should choose one of our other nebulizers. The following may help you select which one, and if the quick list does not help, the more detailed tables following may help.

1. PEEK Mira Mist:
Most Instruments, most samples: lower cost, excellent stability, %RSD, intensities.

2. Teflon Mira Mist:
Most Instruments, most samples, with concentrated acids, or organic solvents, excellent stability, %RSD, intensities.

3. Ari Mist:
For low flow applications for ICP/MS instruments. Handles particulate - free samples, but not some organic solvents, HF, or Sulphuric acid. Excellent stability, %RSD, intensities.

4. T2002, TJA Trace:
Most Instruments, most samples, with concentrated acids, or organic solvents and lot of undissolved particles, very good stability, %RSD, intensities.

5. BTS 50:
Scott Double Pass chambers, with Burgener Research TADP-2 Adapter. For most Instruments, most samples, with concentrated acids, or organic solvents and lots of undissolved particles, lowest cost, very good stability, %RSD, intensities.

6. Mira Mist CE, Ari Mist HP, T2002-HP, BTS 100, Legere:
Special application high pressure nebulizers: only used when low flow or very high stability and intensities are required. Highest cost, require higher pressure than available in most instruments.

7. LB 30:
Special application low pressure high sample flow high gas flow nebulizer. Used for industrial sprays, not for ICP, ICP/MS analysis.

NEBULIZER SELECTION CRITERIA DETAILS

General Usage:

Model	Operating Pressure at .8 l/min	Sample Flow microliters/min	Sample Capillary I.D. microns	Plugable	Appropriate Chamber	First Year	Comments
PEEK Mira Mist	35-45 psi	200 - 2500	425	possible not likely	All	2001	Medium Salts, Particles, excellent %RSD (< .7%), very good sensitivities. Not appropriate for concentrated acids, some organics.
Teflon Mira Mist	35-45 psi	200 - 2500	425	possible not likely	All	2000	Medium Salts, Particles, excellent %RSD (< .7%), very good sensitivities. Micro Flow for alcohol, organics: 50 ul/min +
Ari Mist	35-45 psi	50 - 1000	75	possible not likely	All	2001	Medium Salts, No Particles, excellent %RSD (< .7%), very good sensitivities. Not appropriate for concentrated acids, or for some organics.
T2002	35-45 psi	800 - 2500	425-800	No	All	1994	High Salts, Particles, good %RSD (< 1%), good sensitivities. Can not plug nebulizer - sample passage larger than capillary used to carry sample from pump.
TJA Trace	35-45 psi	800 - 2500	425-800	No	All	1994	High Salts, Particles, good %RSD (< 1%), good sensitivities. Only available from TJA / Thermal Elemental
BTS 50	35-45 psi	800 - 2500	425-800	No	Limited	1993	High Salts, Particles, good %RSD (< 1%), good sensitivities Designed for ARL and older chambers. Works with Scott Double pass chambers. Does not fit cyclonic chambers
LB 30	Requires ~ 4 L/min at 35-45 psi	2,000 - 50,000	1000	No	Industrial	2001	High Sample Flow, excellent mist. Runs 2 to 50 ml/min, with optimum from 5 to 35 ml/min. Designed for industrial applications, not for ICP analysis.

Low Sample Flow:

Model	Operating Pressure at .8 l/min	Sample Flow microliters/min	Sample Capillary I.D. microns	Plugable	Appropriate Chamber	First Year	Comments
PEEK Mira Mist	35-45 psi	200 - 2500	425	possible not likely	All	2001	Medium Salts, Particles, excellent %RSD (< .7%), very good sensitivities. Not appropriate for concentrated acids, some organics.
Teflon Mira Mist	35-45 psi	200 - 2500	425	possible not likely	All	2000	Medium Salts, Particles, excellent %RSD (< .7%), very good sensitivities. Low Flow capable: 200 microliters/min to 2 ml/min.
Mira Mist CE	75-90 psi	2 - 2500	425	possible not likely	All	2002	Interface for CE/ICP/MS, excellent %RSD (< .5%), excellent sensitivities. .
Ari Mist	35-50 psi	50 - 1000	75	plugable	All or mini chamber	2001	Medium Salts, NO Particles, good %RSD (< 1%), Excelent sensitivities. Works with Burgener Mini Chamber - simpler than direction injection with same advantages.
Ari Mist HP	55-90 psi	10 - 1000	75	plugable	All or micro chamber	2001	Medium Salts, NO Particles, good %RSD (< 1%), Excelent sensitivities. Works with Burgener Micro Chamber - simpler than direction injection with same advantages.
Legere	80-125 psi	500 - 2500	425-800	No	Limited	1984	High Salts, Particles, excellent %RSD (< .5%), excellent sensitivities Can run much lower flow rates for organic solvents and alcohols. Designed for Seiko, ARL and large chambers. Does not fit cyclonic chambers

High Pressure, Maximum Stability:

Model	Operating Pressure at .8 l/min	Sample Flow microliters/min	Sample Capillary I.D. microns	Plugable	Appropriate Chamber	First Year	Comments
Legere	80-125 psi	500 - 2500	425-800	No	Limited	1984	High Salts, Particles, excellent %RSD (< .5%), excellent sensitivities Can run much lower flow rates for organic solvents and alcohols. Designed for Seiko, ARL and large chambers. Does not fit cyclonic chambers

Minimum Flow Rate for CE/ICP/MS & LC/ICP/MS:

Model	Operating Pressure at .8 l/min	Sample Flow microliters/min	Sample Capillary I.D. microns	Plugable	Appropriate Chamber	First Year	Comments
Mira Mist CE	75-90 psi	2 - 2500	425	possible not likely	All	2002	Interface for CE/ICP/MS, excellent %RSD (< .5%), excellent sensitivities. .
Ari Mist HP	65-90 psi	10 - 1000	75	plugable	All or mini chamber	2001	Medium Salts, NO Particles, good %RSD (< 1%), Excelent sensitivities. Works with Burgener Mini Chamber - simpler than direction injection with same advantages.

DISCUSSION of SELECTION CRITERIA

Burgener Nebulizers have pressure ratings to indicate what pressure is required for 1 liter per minute Argon flow. Most Torches require .7 to .8 L/min, and flow rates above or below the torch optimum change the location of the plasma, and therefore also change the resultant intensities and stability of the plasma. The type of torch determines the optimum flow rates, not the nebulizer. The optimum pressure for the nebulizer is usually as high a pressure as your instrument will provide. But the Optimum flow rate is determined by the type of torch and rarely matches the optimum of the nebulizer itself. While optimizing nebulizer flow rates or pressures, you are optimizing the flow rates to the torch and the whole system.

The above charts list the normal Operating Pressures assuming a 0.8 liter/minute Argon flow rate.

Some torches require 1.5 L/min, some use 1 L/min and some as little as 0.6 L/min. So the operating pressure of a nebulizer depends on the torch and can not be indicated on the nebulizer package since we do not know what torch will be used with it. We mark the package to indicate a specific flow rate, and we have chosen 1 Liter / minute as a standard. A nebulizer that requires 45 psi (15 psi = 1 barr) for a flow of 1 L/min will usually be operated at .8 L/min, which requires about 35 - 37 psi. In general, for all makes and designs of nebulizers, they work better at higher pressures. Our 30 psi rated nebulizers are designed for high flow (older design) torches that require 1.5 L/min. With a 30 psi per 1 L/min nebulizer, you can operate at 45 psi for 1.5 L/min which fits instruments with a maximum of 45 psi. Most instruments use newer torch designs and require .8 L/min or less, so we rarely sell 30 psi rated nebulizers.

Nebulizers work better at higher pressures. To get the best possible sensitivities and lowest %RSD, 100 psi or more is desirable. Our Legere, Mira Mist CE and Ari Mist nebulizers use 70 - 125 psi for 1 L/min, which means that most torches at .8L/min will require 50 - 80 psi for the nebulizer to optimize. This requires an instrument able to deliver higher pressures, and usually means that you will need an Argon supply independent of the instrument controls. A double stage regulator on a standard Argon tank will provide stable gas flows and should last a week or more of continuos operation.

Our Ari Mist nebulizer is designed for 5 to 20 microliter/minute sample flows. To maximize the number of instruments easily used with it, while maintaining a high enough flow rate to sustain a mist, we designed the Ari Mist to require about 75 psi for 1 L/min gas flow. Optimizing on the PE/Sciex Elan ICP/MS, we found that a torch routinely running with 0.8 L/min actually required 1.2 L/min (85 psi) to optimize with a 5 microliter/min sample flow. The PE mass flow controller was set for 1.5 L/min, but could not provide the pressure required to accomplish that, nor did it indicate that the actual flow rate was much lower than we had set - it had no pressure indicator, just a total flow setting. We had to use a separate gas line to get the actual 85 psi. This is a problem with most mass flow controllers: they do not have any way to indicate that there is not enough gas pressure to deliver the desired flow, so you may get low or no counts due to too little gas pressure without any indication in the instrument setup that the gas pressure is the problem.

The nebulizer requires Pressure to operate, but instruments with mass flow controllers list Flow not pressure, and the torch requires a set Flow not Pressure. To know if your system is properly optimized, you need to know the pressure and the flow, and unfortunately most manufacturers do not have both parameters available.

With the above preamble, you can now follow the nebulizer selection criteria:

1. Always use the highest pressure rating possible for your machine. If your machine can provide 125 psi, use a 125 psi nebulizer for the best sensitivities and lowest %RSD.

2. Accept your machines limitations in pressure - the lower rated pressure nebulizers are acceptable for most routine analysis. Only go to higher pressures if you absolutely require the precision - the nuisance of a separate high pressure tank of Argon is not worth it if the slightly lower precision is acceptable.

3. For General usage, the T2002 and the TJA Trace are the recommended nebulizers. They fit all standard chambers that can use a Meinhard, and they run all solutions without plugging or salting problems. These CAN NOT plug. The sample passage is much bigger than the capillary tube ID used to deliver the sample. The capillary tube can plug, but it is press fitted into the nebulizer and can be easily changed.

4. For General usage, with medium to low salt contents, and few particles in the liquids, use the Mira Mist - you get a better Sensitivity and lower %RSD than with the T2002 or Trace. The Mira Mist has a large sample passage ID: 425 microns or .017 inch - 4 times the cross sectional area of standard glass concentrics. Most particles will easily pass through the nebulizer without plugging. The Mira Mist CAN plug, but it is solid so it can be cleaned with a cleaning wire - however, a cleaning wire can also easily destroy the nebulizer if it touches the gas orifice area. So to minimize plugging, use a capillary tube smaller in ID than the Mira Mist sample ID.

5. For high precision with systems able to use a larger chamber and high Argon pressures, use the Burgener Legere. It is a V groove design and has excellent sensitivities and precision, but will require a large 0.94 inch ID chamber, common in the 1980s but rare today. The Legere will not fit a cyclonic chamber.

6. For high precision and low flow rates, with access to high pressure Argon, use the Mira Mist CE. It will fit a cyclonic chamber, and any other standard chamber. The Mira mist CE has the same sample passage ID of 425 microns or .017 inch as the regular Mira Mist, but it is set for high pressure Argon sources, and it is manufactured to be able to run at VERY low sample flow rates. It will handle high salts and solids, and gives precision and sensitivities as good as or better than the Legere.

7. For Very Low Sample Flow use the Ari Mist nebulizer. It differs from the Mira Mist in having a smaller ID Sample capillary - minimizing the sample flow rate through the nebulizer. It is designed to run 5 to 1000 microliters a minute or less. The Ari Mist has a small sample passage ID: 75 microns or .003 inch. It CAN PLUG. Use it with particle-free samples.

Teflon is a registered trademark of E.I. DuPont De Nemours Company and in all cases in this web page refers to PTFE (PolyTetraFluoroEthylene)