Hydrodynamic Chromatography Online with Single Particle-Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry for Ultratrace Detection of Metal-Containing Nanoparticles

Nanoparticle (NP) determination has recently gained considerable interest since a growing number of engineered NPs are being used in commercial products. As a result, their potential to enter the environment and biological systems is increasing. In this study, we report on the development of a hyphenated analytical technique for the detection and characterization of metal-containing NPs, i.e., their metal mass fraction, size, and number concentration. Hydrodynamic chromatography (HDC), suitable for sizing NPs within the range of 5 to 300 nm, was coupled online to inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICPMS), providing for an extremely selective and sensitive analytical tool for the detection of NPs. However, a serious drawback when operating the ICPMS in its conventional mode is that it does not provide data regarding NP number concentrations and, thus, any information about the metal mass fraction of individual NPs. To address this limitation, we developed single particle (SP) ICPMS coupled onlin...