Separation, detection and characterisation of engineered nanoparticles in natural waters using hydrodynamic chromatography and multi-method detection (light scattering, analytical ultracentrifugation and single particle ICP-MS)

Environmental context The effects of engineered nanoparticles on the environment and on human health are difficult to evaluate largely because nanoparticles are so difficult to measure. The main problems are that concentrations are low and the engineered nanoparticles are often difficult to distinguish from the environmental matrices in which they are found. We report a separation technique that facilitates the detection of engineered nanoparticles in natural waters. Abstract Few analytical techniques are presently able to detect and quantify engineered nanoparticles (ENPs) in the environment. The major challenges result from the complex matrices of environmental samples and the low concentrations at which the ENPs are expected to be found. Separation techniques such as asymmetric flow field flow fractionation (AF4) and more recently, hydrodynamic chromatography (HDC) have been used to partly resolve ENPs from their complex environmental matrices. In this paper, HDC was first coupled to light scattering detectors in order to develop a method that would allow the separation and detection of ENPs spiked into a natural water. Size fractionated samples were characterised using off-line detectors including analytical ultracentrifugation (AUC), dynamic light scattering (DLS) and single particle inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (SP-ICP-MS). HDC was able to separate a complex mixture of polystyrene, silver and gold nanoparticles (radii of 60, 40, 20 and 10 nm) contained within a river water matrix. Furthermore, the feasibility of using HDC coupled to SP-ICP-MS was demonstrated by detecting 4 µg L–1 of a 20-nm (radius) nAg in a river water sample.