Metal nanoparticles become very popular in present times. Because of their small size and unique physical and chemical properties, nanoparticles are attractive for various applications (e.g., medicine, industry, agriculture) [1]. SP-Q-ICP-MS is a novel, promising technique for nanoparticle analysis [2]. It allows us to get the result straightforwardly and affordably. However, the major limitation of SP-Q-ICP-MS is the analysis of only one element at a time. An attempt to dual analyte examination of nanoparticles using Q-ICP-MS in SP mode has been shown recently [3]. This approach, however, was not implemented commercially.

Our alternative approach demonstrates the combination of advanced features of NexION 2200 Q-ICP-MS – outstanding sensitivity, microsecond dwell time, possible to modify settling time, and powerful dynamic reaction cell (DRC), with the new signal processing algorithm for analyzing bimetallic nanoparticles.

The algorithm we propose includes changes in the approach to background determination (collected data are characterized by a skewed distribution); hence, we propose the use of robust statistics here. Another modification involves the method of individual peak detection — our approach is based on the gradient method. Additionally, the algorithm utilizes a weighted calibration curve.

References

[1] Altammar K.A. Frontiers in Microbiology, 2023, 14, 1155622.
[2] M.D. Montaño, J.F. Ranville Environmental Science: Nano, 2014, 1, 338–346.
[3] N.D. Donahue, S. Wilhelm Nano Letters, 2021, 22(1), 294-301.