Single particle inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry for the analysis of inorganic engineered nanoparticles in environmental samples

The analysis of engineered nanoparticles in environmental samples involves their detection followed by their quantification and characterization. The development of robust and reliable methods for achieving these objectives is one of the main challenges of analytical chemistry, and single particle inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (SP-ICP-MS) is considered one of such promising methods. The success of SP-ICP-MS lies on the fact that different types of analytical information can be obtained by using any commercial instrument. A priori, the following information related to one or more specific elements can be obtained: (i) qualitative information about the presence of particulate and/or dissolved forms, (ii) quantitative information as particle number as well as mass concentrations and (iii) characterization information about the mass of element/s per particle and particle size. The transformations that engineered nanoparticles can undergo under environmental conditions and the occurrence of natural particles of similar composition bring additional challenges. The aim of this review is to present the current situation of SP-ICP-MS for the analysis of inorganic engineered nanoparticles in environmental samples and the approaches needed to cope with complex environmental problems.