Quasi-simultaneous acquisition of nine secondary ions with seven detectors on NanoSIMS50L: application to biological samples.

We employed a method of electrostatic peak switching allowing for the quasi-simultaneous measurement of 16O, 18O, C2H, C2D,12C14N, 13C14N, 12C15N, P, and S with the NanoSIMS 50L instrument to derive ratios for D/H, 13C/12C, 18O/16O, and 15N/14N from biological samples. This approach involves two steps: (i) derivation of the D/H ratio from measurements of C2D and C2H and (ii) switching of the voltage on deflection plates located in front of two detectors. The method is reliable and easy to set up compared with the magnetic peak-switching mode usually used to perform this type of analysis.