Anal Chem. 2018 Aug 21;90(16):9742-9750. doi: 10.1021/acs.analchem.8b01167. Epub 2018 Aug 7.
Small-angle X-ray scattering spectroscopy (SAXS) is the method of choice for nanoparticle diameter and concentration determination. On the one hand, it is metrologically traceable for spherical nanoparticle mean diameter determination and does not require any sample preparation or calibration. On the other hand, single-particle inductively coupled mass spectrometry (SPICPMS) is still under development and requires involved process clarification and accuracy improvement. The strategy of this study is the comparison of the two techniques to study comprehensively SPICPMS performance and observe phenomena otherwise hidden. Six spherical gold nanoparticle suspensions distributed over a large size range (30, 50, 60, 80,100, and 150 nm) are studied as calibration points. Potential matrix effects are eliminated by stabilizing nanoparticles with chitosan in HCl. Chitosan encapsulates nanoparticles, stabilizes their dispersion, and protects them from dissolution. Detection counting/analogue threshold and timeout appear as the relevant parameters for transient signals. They show an influence not only on mean signal but also on signal distribution. The detection tuning proposed allows to linearly calibrate the nanoparticle distribution signal to cubed diameter over the entire range studied with no sensitivity diminution. Comparing the three classical transport efficiency methods, size transport efficiency is shown as the most accurate. The new procedure is validated analyzing three gold nanoparticle suspensions (135, 40, and 50 nm). The results are consistent with SAXS measurements.
小角 X 射线散射光谱学 (SAXS) 是测定纳米粒子直径和浓度的首选方法。一方面,对于球形纳米粒子平均直径的测定,它具有可溯源的计量学特性,且不需要任何样品制备或校准。另一方面,单颗粒电感耦合质谱法 (SPICPMS) 仍在开发中,需要进行复杂的过程澄清和准确性提高。本研究的策略是比较这两种技术,以全面研究 SPICPMS 的性能并观察到其他隐藏的现象。研究了六个大小分布范围较大(30、50、60、80、100 和 150nm)的球形金纳米粒子悬浮液作为校准点。通过用壳聚糖在 HCl 中稳定纳米粒子来消除潜在的基质效应。壳聚糖封装纳米粒子,稳定其分散体,并防止其溶解。检测计数/模拟阈值和超时作为瞬态信号的相关参数出现。它们不仅对平均信号有影响,而且对信号分布也有影响。所提出的检测调谐允许在线性上将纳米粒子分布信号校准为立方直径,在整个研究范围内不会降低灵敏度。通过比较三种经典的传输效率方法,尺寸传输效率被证明是最准确的。新程序通过分析三种金纳米粒子悬浮液(135、40 和 50nm)进行了验证。结果与 SAXS 测量一致。