2016 journal article

Effects of HCl pretreatment, drying, and storage on the stable isotope ratios of soil and sediment samples

RAPID COMMUNICATIONS IN MASS SPECTROMETRY, 30(13), 1567–1575.

By: M. Kim*, W. Lee *, K. Kumar *, K. Shin *, W. Robarge n, M. Kim *, S. Lee*

TL;DR: A temperature-dependent change in the isotopic ratios of long-term stored samples was observed during this study; therefore, relatively short-term storage of freeze-dried samples is preferable and HCl pretreatment is not recommended for δ(15) N andδ(34) S analysis. (via Semantic Scholar)
UN Sustainable Development Goal Categories
14. Life Below Water (Web of Science; OpenAlex)
Source: Web Of Science
Added: August 6, 2018

RationaleStable isotope (δ13C, δ15N, δ34S values) analysis has become increasingly important for tracing contaminant sources in environments. Pretreatment of environmental samples allows accurate analysis of stable isotope ratios. The pretreatment of a sample and its subsequent preservation could either contaminate or create experimental artifacts affecting the validity of the resulting C/N ratios and the elemental isotopic contents of a sample.