Abstract
The industrial exploitation of high value nanoparticles is in need of robust measurement methods to increase the control over product manufacturing and to implement quality assurance. InNanoPart, a European metrology project responded to these needs by developing methods for the measurement of particle size, concentration, agglomeration, surface chemistry and shell thickness. This paper illustrates the advancements this project produced for the traceable measurement of nanoparticle number concentration in liquids through small angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) and single particle inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (spICPMS). It also details the validation of a range of laboratory methods, including particle tracking analysis (PTA), dynamic light scattering (DLS), differential centrifugal sedimentation (DCS), ultraviolet visible spectroscopy (UV-vis) and electrospray-differential mobility analysis with a condensation particle counter (ES-DMA-CPC). We used a set of spherical gold nanoparticles with nominal diameters between 10 nm and 100 nm and discuss the results from the various techniques along with the associated uncertainty budgets.
Highlights
Nanoparticles are increasingly used in innovative products manufactured by advanced industries and provide enhanced, unique properties of great commercial and societal value
The laboratory methods investigated were particle tracking analysis (PTA), dynamic light scattering (DLS), which was used as a stand-alone method or with differential centrifugal sedimentation (DCS) to provide the particle size, ultraviolet visible spectroscopy (UV-vis), and electrospray-differential mobility analysis with a condensation particle counter (ES-DMA-CPC)
The results provided by PTA represent the particle number concentration in the original samples, derived by multiplying the values obtained with the NTA3.2 analysis software and the dilution factor
Summary
Nanoparticles are increasingly used in innovative products manufactured by advanced industries and provide enhanced, unique properties of great commercial and societal value. Advances in industrial production and research have made it possible to manufacture new kinds of nanoparticles, which open new possibilities for technological progress in, for example, drug delivery, medical imaging and electronics [1,2]. Recent advances in metrological research have led to the development of methods for the accurate measurement of shapes and the traceable determination of sizes of nanoparticles [11,12]. The results of measurements of the concentration of colloidal nanoparticles from traceable reference methods are compared to laboratory methods widely available to stakeholders. The study identifies a route for the development of much-sought-for relevant particle reference materials which currently do not exist and could be used for validation of the instrument calibration methods
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
