Multi-screening analysis of single nanoparticles by the first multi-quadrupole ICPMS/MS

Abstract

The recent expansion in the use of nanomaterials in various fields has led to a growing concern over their impacts on environmental systems. Accurate detection, quantification, characterization, and tracking of the nanoparticles are essential for assessing the ecological risks and their implications for environmental health. Inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) operated in single-particle mode is an attractive analytical tool for quantification and sizing very small nanoparticles in aqueous suspensions. The ICP-MultiQuad-MS/MS can rapidly detect (including highly interfered elements) and characterize a large number of particles, determine size and size distributions, the particle number concentration in a sample, and the elemental mass concentration of both dissolved and particulate species. This paper provides the first systematic review of the ICP-MultiQuad-MS/MS to perform NPs analysis applied to different structures and compositions while simultaneously comparing them with the current state of the art of ICP-(CRC)-MS available. This study is done on composite nanomaterials with different shapes for elements with high sensitivity and no interference, like Au, Ag, and Pt, and elements with high interferences and lower sensitivity, like Fe, Si, and Ti.