The growing use of nanoparticles in research and industry has led to high demand for high throughput quantification and characterization methods. This has, in turn, driven the advancement of single particle inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (SP-ICP-MS) techniques. In the work presented here, a custom microextraction (ME) system was used to directly sample particles from a solid surface and deliver them to an ICP-MS for single particle analysis. The modified microextraction system features a motorized X-Y stage and custom probe head which allow for systematic mapping of samples. In the present work, ME-ICP-MS was employed to for the sizing and quantification of various types of nanoparticles particles loaded on a Teflon surface.

The present work showcases the use of the ME system with various ICP-MS instruments, including quadrupole-ICP-MS, time of flight-ICP-MS, and, most recently, multicollector-ICP-MS. The technical difficulties of ME-ICP-MS, and how to overcome them, are discussed. Lastly, the capabilities of an optimized ME-ICP-MS system are showcased.