Single particle ICP-MS combined with filtration membrane for accurate determination of silver nanoparticles in the real aqueous environment.

This work presents the role of commercial microfiltration membranes combined with single particle inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (SP-ICP-MS) in removing environmental matrix interference for model silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) determination. The filters with different pore sizes (0.22 μm, 0.45 μm, 0.8 μm) and materials (mixed cellulose ester, polyether sulfone, and nylon) were investigated to acquire the recovery of particle concentration and size of AgNPs spiked into different real aqueous solutions, including ultrapure water, tap water, surface water, and sewage effluent. The maximum recovery of nanoparticle concentration was 70.2% through the 0.8 μm polyether sulfone membrane. The heated filters were able to improve the recovery of AgNPs particle concentration in the real aqueous environment. Hence, the pretreatment method by SP-ICP-MS combined with filtration membrane was simple, fast, and low-cost to quantify AgNPs in natural water environments.
(© 2023. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to The Japan Society for Analytical Chemistry.)