Detection of engineered nanoparticles in aquatic environments: current status and challenges in enrichment, separation, and analysis

Abstract

The development of enrichment–separation–analysis technologies is the cornerstone of accurately detecting, effectively monitoring, and controlling ENPs in aquatic environments.

The Known and Unknown about the Environmental Safety of Nanomaterials in Commerce

“…Methods that combine techniques, such as coupling ICP-MS with size separation techniques, to measure the metal content taking into account particle size of the sample, have advanced significantly. [89,90] Methods such as scanning mobility particle sizing (SMPS), hydrodynamic chromatography-ICP-MS (HDC-ICP-MS), field flow fractionation-ICP-MS (FFF-ICP-MS), single particle ICP-MS (SP-ICP-MS) are each being used to determine environmental concentrations of nanomaterials. As particles are distributed at low concentrations in an environmental sample, combining extraction, enrichment of the target, separation, and then detection provides a method to improve detection.…”

“…As particles are distributed at low concentrations in an environmental sample, combining extraction, enrichment of the target, separation, and then detection provides a method to improve detection. [89,90] Problems arise as the chemicals added in the enrichment process may change the surface chemistry and therefore impact sorting. Devices for online and in situ analysis are still in the process of development and evaluation.…”

Single-particle ICP-TOFMS with online microdroplet calibration for the simultaneous quantification of diverse nanoparticles in complex matrices

“…12 This characteristic makes sp-ICP-MS well suited to be used to quantify anthropogenic NP pollution locally and globally, which is critical for accurate (eco-) toxicological risk assessments of many NP types. [13][14][15][16][17][18] However, the trueness of NP counting and sizing by sp-ICP-MS depends on how accurately the sample uptake into the ICP (i.e. transport efficiency) and signal per analyzed unit of mass (i.e.…”

Assessing Sunscreen Lifecycle to Minimize Environmental Risk Posed by Nanoparticulate UV-Filters – A Review for Safer-by-Design Products

“…Determining the environmental concentration of engineered nanoparticles is a challenging task that can be approached by field sampling at local scale or model estimation at varying scales. While the field approach was limited by ever evolving detection methods (see section "Environmental occurrence of UV-filters due to bathing activity") (Zhang et al, 2019), model estimations have been developed to estimate the environmental fate scenario and occurrence of ENMs in aqueous media. Even if many knowledge gaps (e.g., on ENM production, application and release) still affect the modeled values, an order of magnitude of the environmental concentrations was reached and agreed.…”