Two sample introduction techniques suited for the direct analysis of solid materials - electrothermal vaporization (ETV) and laser ablation (LA) - will be used in combination with single-collector and multi-collector ICP-mass spectrometry. Fundamental issues, such as calibration and the occurrence of and correction for mass discrimination, will be studied. Subsequently, these hyphenated techniques will be deployed in real-life applications, such as trace elemental analysis of industrial materials (e.g., PVDF, TiO2) and spatially resolved analysis.