Sandro Fazzolari, Bodo Hattendorf, Detlef Günther
ETH Zurich, Department of Chemistry and Applied Biosciences Vladimir-Prelog-Weg 1 8093 Zurich Switzerland
J Anal At Spectrom. 2024 Dec 3;40(1):276-285. doi: 10.1039/d4ja00323c. eCollection 2025 Jan 2.
A fundamental study of four different sample introduction systems was carried out to evaluate the upper size limit of microplastics measured by inductively coupled plasma-time-of-flight-mass spectrometry (ICP-TOFMS). Three different, certified microplastic samples (PS, PMMA and PVC) within a size range of 3-20 µm in suspension were measured. In this study, no particles larger than 10 µm could be detected using pneumatic nebulization for sample introduction. However, we were able to extend the upper size limit to 20 µm by either using a falling-tube device or a vertical downwards-pointing ICP-TOFMS. Particle transport efficiencies could only be estimated and were within a range of 13% to 184%. The particle size was quantified by using dissolved citric acid (non-matrix matched) and agreed with reference values. The critical size values were 2.3 µm for PS, 2.4 µm for PMMA and 3.0 µm for PVC. Additionally, in the case of PVC, chlorine could also be detected and the critical size value was 3.9 µm based on the Cl ion signal.
开展了一项针对四种不同进样系统的基础研究，以评估通过电感耦合等离子体飞行时间质谱仪（ICP - TOFMS）测量微塑料的尺寸上限。对悬浮液中粒径范围为3 - 20 µm的三种不同的、经认证的微塑料样品（PS、PMMA和PVC）进行了测量。在本研究中，使用气动雾化进样时，无法检测到大于10 µm的颗粒。然而，通过使用落管装置或垂直向下指向的ICP - TOFMS，我们能够将尺寸上限扩展到20 µm。颗粒传输效率只能进行估算，范围在13%至184%之间。通过使用溶解的柠檬酸（非基体匹配）对颗粒尺寸进行了定量，结果与参考值相符。PS的临界尺寸值为2.3 µm，PMMA为2.4 µm，PVC为3.0 µm。此外，对于PVC，还能检测到氯，基于Cl离子信号的临界尺寸值为3.9 µm。
