Absolute Basics of Elemental analysis
- Duration: 1 day for live courses
- Experience level: Beginners
- Delivery methods: Face-to-face | Offsite training & consultancy | Online | Onsite training & consultancy | Tailored training |
- Type of course: Universal
- Applicable to manufacturer(s): Agilent | PerkinElmer | Thermo |
- CPD Approved: Not yet approved
- Scheduled course price: £385.00 + TAX per delegate
- Course discounts: RSC HEaTED CAMS Cambridge Network TSN members receive a discount on this course
Your beginner’s guide to elemental analysis (EA)
Learn the fundamentals of elemental analysis (EA), including inductively coupled plasma (ICP) with optical emission spectroscopy (OES), atomic emission spectroscopy (AES), mass spectrometry (MS) and tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) plus atomic absorption spectroscopy (AAS), with this beginner‑friendly 1-day classroom-based course for professionals and students. This introductory, analytical chemistry course will cover the what, how, why, where and when of elemental analysis techniques including ICP-OES, ICP-AES, ICP-MS, ICP-MS/MS and AAS then implementing your newly learned knowledge to real‑world applications. Improve your understanding further with the opportunity to handle (see, in virtual courses) parts and consumables including ICP torches and nebulisers and, an MS quadrupole and electron multiplier.
Whether you’re stepping into elemental analysis for the first time or looking to refresh your technical expertise, this essential training course gives you the knowledge you need to understand, choose between and start using ICP-OES, ICP-MS and AAS. These foremost analytical chemistry techniques are used to identify and quantify elements in complex mixtures and are used in laboratories worldwide. This course breaks complex instrumentation and techniques into easy-to-understand concepts, helping you to build skills that you can use in the lab.
Why should I join Absolute Basics of Elemental analysis?
On completion, you will be able to understand what defines elemental analysis and the different techniques used, their typical applications, the methods ability to identify and quantify the elemental composition of a sample, how AAS, ICP-OES and ICP-MS work and why they are being used more and more in analytical laboratories around the world.
This elemental analysis course gives you:
- Strong foundational knowledge with no assumed experience
- Clear explanations and examples of the techniques used in elemental analysis
- Confidence to start to interpret data and understand what it means
- A better understanding of instrumentation with parts and consumables to see and handle
- Insights into real applications across multiple industries using animated applications
- Knowledge of the differences, similarities, pros and cons of AAS, ICP-OES, ICP-AES, ICP-MS and ICP-MS/MS and how to choose which technique is best for an application
- A great starting point before taking more in-depth training
- A good refresher if you haven’t performed elemental analysis for a while
- A great summary of AAS, ICP-OES and ICP-MS aided with an acronym glossary
This is your opportunity to understand some of the most widely used elemental analysis analytical techniques in modern science.
What would I learn on Absolute Basics of Elemental analysis?
A beginner‑friendly introductory course focusing on the what, how, why, where and when of elemental analysis, including:
- What elemental analysis is
- The processes to identify and quantify elemental composition
- What is AAS, including flame AAS and graphite furnace AAS
- What is ICP-OES, including both axial and radial viewing types and how it is different to AAS
- What is mass spectrometry
- What makes ICP-MS unique and different to ICP-OES and AAS
- How elemental analysis works
- The core principles behind elemental analysis
- How AAS, ICP-OES and ICP-MS detect and measure analytes
- How the instrument components work, from sample introduction to detection
- How atomic absorption differs to atomic emission in AAS ad ICP-OES
- How the mass spectrometer detects elements based on their mass-to-charge ratio
- Why we use elemental analysis
- The use of AAS, ICP-OES and ICP-MS for qualitative analysis and quantitation, data analysis
- Why elemental analysis is used for multi-element identification and trace/ultra-trace analysis
- Why wavelength selectivity is important
- Where elemental analysis is involved
- Suitability of types of samples and analytes for each elemental analysis technique
- Where interferences can impact data and steps that can be taken to mitigate these
- Where some problems can be avoided using techniques such as cold vapour AAS or hydride generation AAS, ICP-MS or ICP-MS/MS
- When elemental analysis is the right choice
- Real-world, interactive, exercises of example applications across pharmaceuticals, environmental science, food testing, forensics, clinical labs and the petrochemical industry
- When each technique is best suited, based on the sample type looking at AAS vs ICP-OES vs ICP-MS
What knowledge will I gain on Absolute Basics of Elemental analysis?
By the end of the course, you will:
- Understand the concepts of AAS, ICP-OES and ICP-MS and appreciate the differences and detection limits of each
- Have an insight into more specialised techniques like ICP-MS/MS and hydride generation AAS
- Know the key instrument components of these techniques from sample introduction systems to data collection
- Feel confident discussing ICP and AAS instrumentation, workflows and results
- Understand the different types of elemental analysis techniques, their pros and cons such as ICP-MS having higher sensitivity but being more complex, to AAS being a cheaper, simpler alternative but having to consider interferences from complex matrices
- Be familiar with common sample preparation techniques
- Comprehend the principles behind data generation and data analysis
- Recognise how AAS, ICP-OES and ICP-MS are used across diverse industries
- Understand what’s next in your path of progression for elemental analysis
This course gives you the language and understanding needed to work with elemental analysis systems, even if you’re not the person pressing the buttons.
Is this course for me?
This training is designed for anyone who needs a solid grounding in elemental analysis, including:
- For beginners to elemental analysis, AAS, ICP-OES, and/or ICP-MS
- Analysts & technicians wanting a clear, structured refresher
- Laboratory or line managers overseeing AAS, ICP-OES and ICP-MS instruments
- Data analysts and report writers who interpret results but don’t use the instruments
- Service and consultant engineers who need a chemistry-focused viewpoint
- Sales, marketing or commercial teams working with elemental analysis systems, consumables, data or laboratory services
If elemental analysis touches your work in any way, this well-planned course delivered by experts in the field equips you to understand the science behind these techniques.
What's next?
Feedback from previous attendees
“I have attended a series of courses recently both with Anthias and other providers and I have found the Anthias courses to be far superior to others in all aspects including pace, course content and training materials. If I was considering booking a training course in the future Anthias would be my first choice.” Higher Scientific Officer, 2026
“It was explained well, with lots of examples to do together. It wasn’t too long, as concentration goes after too much time. I liked that there were examples to do together, that helped me understand better the techniques.” Scientific Officer, 2026
“It was informative, precise, understanding, complex, easy going, fun and nice.” Assistant Science Officer, 2026
“Knowledgeable presenter and well laid our course materials, appropriate level of material covered.” Water Quality Laboratory Manager, 2026
“I found the course very useful, it was at an appropriate level for our requirements and the instructor was knowledgeable. The background and applications added in good value and helped with understanding.” Water Quality Laboratory Manager, 2026
“The course was excellent and covered everything I needed to know. It was very helpful that the trainer was willing to address some specific problems that we have been having with our own analysis recently.” Higher Scientific Officer, 2026
“Before completing this course I had little to no understanding of ICP-OES/ICP-MS or its applications. It is an analytical technique which I’ve heard repeatedly in my workplace but know very little about. I got exactly what I was hoping to gain from this course which is an insight into the use of ICP-OES & ICP-MS. In particular, what I found most useful was studying the structure of the ICP-OES/ICP-MS instrument. Often in the workplace I think analysts are trained on an instrument but we don’t take the time to focus on the components or structure of the equipment as it’s not necessarily required to complete analysis. I think this background information will give me more confidence in operating an ICP-OES/ICP-MS instrument (if I ever have the opportunity).” Analytical Chemist, 2026
