In order to attain profound information about the effects of trace elements,new methodologies or modify conventional analytical methods is deemed as vital factor for the progress of bio-medical and environmental studies.To realize the possible mechanisms of beneficial and adverse effects of trace elements,recent research interest is emphasized on the determination of not only of total concentration of elements but also of their chemical species.In view of the limitation on the analytical capability of single instrumental technique,analytical chemists can seldom rely on a single instrumental technique to analyze a sample with complicated matrix and analyte species with a variety of physico-chemical form.Additionally,to implement in-vivo biological study,analytical technique which can monitor the dynamic variation of desired elements in a living biological organism is still highly demanded.It is thus necessary to develop a technique which can fulfill in-situ,in-vivo and continuous ultratrace analyses of extremely small sample quantities(μl sample volumes)down to the sub-μg/l concentration range in high salt content biological samples.Accordingly,the most important features of an analytical tool suitable for meeting the requirement of modern analytical works are shorter temporal resolution,good selectivity and high sensitivity.For ultratrace elements measurements,ICP coupled with Mass Spectrometry(ICP-MS)has been considered as first priority option.Although the analytical sensitivity has been significantly improved by the technical advances in ICP-MS,instrumental limitations,such as difficulties in differentiating elemental species and removing matrix interferences caused by the concomitant salt,still remain in advanced analytical technologies.To satisfy the analytical requirements,the potency of hyphenating analytical separation techniques to mass spectrometers has been recognized.Basically,the advantages brought about by coupling techniques are increasing the differentiating and separating power of analytical methods and synergism between methods.However,the design of the analytical system is difficult,owing to the complex composition of the real-world sample,the diversity of physicochemical forms of the element,their lability and low concentrations.For overcoming the abovementioned problems,attempts to couple ICP-MS with various types of chromatography for separation,as well as on-line sample pretreatment techniques for signal enhancement and matrix removal have been made.Based on our experimental results,this presentation will describe the studied hyphenated methods which have been proven feasible for the analyses of trace elements and their chemical species in biological and environmental systems.