Single Particle ICP MS: Advances toward routine analysis of nanomaterials
AbstractFrom its early beginnings in characterizing aerosol particles to its recent applications for investigating natural waters and waste streams, single particle inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (spICP MS) has proven to be a powerful technique for the detection and characterization of aqueous dispersions of metal containing nanomaterials. Combining the high throughput of an ensemble technique with the specificity of a single particle counting technique and the elemental specificity of ICP MS, spICP MS is capable of rapidly providing researchers with information pertaining to size, size distribution, particle number concentration, and major elemental composition with minimal sample perturbation. Recently, advances in data acquisition, signal processing, and the implementation of alternative mass analyzers (e.g. time of flight) has resulted in a wider breadth of particle analyses and made significant progress toward overcoming many of the challenges in the quantitative analysis of nanoparticles. This review provides an overview of spICP MS development from a niche technique to application for routine analysis, a discussion of the key issues for quantitative analysis, and examples of its further advancement for analysis of increasingly complex environmental and biological samples. Graphical AbstractSingle particle ICP MS workflow for the analysis of suspended nanoparticles
Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry