Rapid Analysis of Silver, Gold and Titanium Dioxide Nanoparticles in Drinking Water by Single Particle ICP-MS

As the use of nanoparticles (NPs) in industrial processes and consumer products has increased, so has the likelihood that they will appear in the environment, both through the discharge of industrial waste and from discarded consumer products. Although the concentration of NPs is expected to be low in environmental systems, their impact on human health is unknown. Therefore, the need exists to determine NPs in drinking water systems.

Because of its unique ability for rapid, sensitive and element-specific analysis, single particle ICP-MS (SP-ICP-MS) is an ideal tool for measuring NPs in drinking water systems. This work will highlight the efficiency of drinking water treatment systems in removing silver (Ag), gold (Au), and titanium dioxide (TiO2) nanoparticles using SP-ICP-MS as the sole analytical technique.

All analyses were performed on a PerkinElmer NexION® 300D/350D ICP-MS using Syngistix™ software with the Syngistix Nano Application Module (PerkinElmer Part No. N8140309).

All measurements were made against external calibration curves in the Syngistix Nano Application Module. For the dissolved concentrations, calibration standards were made from serial dilutions of single-element stock solutions. Particle calibration standards were made by diluting the appropriate particles to concentrations of approximately 105 particles/mL or less to minimise the probability that multiple particles arrive at the plasma at the same time

Conclusions Drawn
This work has demonstrated the ability of the NexION 350 ICP-MS running in Single Particle mode to accurately detect Au, Ag, and TiO2 nanoparticles in drinking water systems. Real samples analysed both pre- and post-treatment showed that drinking water treatment processes of the studied water treatment plants effectively remove both dissolved and Ti-containing nanoparticles (Neither Au nor Ag were detected in these water samples).

The use of the Syngistix Nano Application Module with the NexION 350 running in Single Particle mode is an ideal tool to measure rapidly and continually low nanoparticle concentrations in real samples.

To download the full application note and read further information on the experiment, instrumental conditions and review the results and discussion, please click here.

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