TY - JOUR A1 - Onyenso, Gabriel A1 - AI-Zawity, Jiwar A1 - Farahbakhsh, Nastaran A1 - Schardt, Annika A1 - Yadigarli, Aydan A1 - Vakamulla Raghu, Swathi Naidu A1 - Engelhard, Carsten A1 - Müller, Mareike A1 - Schönherr, Holger A1 - Killian, Manuela S. T1 - Novel Ag-modified zirconia nanomaterials with antibacterial activity N2 - The outcome of an implant procedure largely depends on the implant's surface properties. Biomaterials are now designed to have surfaces with multifunctionality, such as favorable tissue integration and the ability to combat bacterial adhesion and colonization. Herein, we report on a simple approach to improve the antibacterial properties of zirconia nanotubes (ZrNTs) coatings by decorating with silver nanoparticles (AgNP), achieved through electrochemical anodization of a zirconium–silver alloy (Zr–Ag). The AgNPs were shown to partially consist of Ag2O, potentially enhancing the availability of Ag+ ions for antibacterial activity. The modified ZrNTs were characterized using SEM, EDS, ToF-SIMS, and XPS to determine their structural morphology and chemical composition, and were further subjected to antibacterial testing. The silver and zirconium ion release behavior was monitored via ICP-MS. ZrNTs decorated with AgNP exhibit strong antimicrobial activity (>99% bacterial killing) against both S. aureus and E. coli. Antimicrobial tests indicate that the antibacterial activity against the Gram-positive pathogen S. aureus was improved by a factor of 100 compared to unmodified ZrNTs, while unmodified ZrNTs already showed a comparable reduction of viable Gram-negative E. coli. This strategy illustrates a straightforward and effective modification that optimizes the interface between the host environment and the biomaterial surface to meet the very important criteria of biocompatibility and active antibacterial response. KW - Mass Spectrometry KW - Nanoparticles KW - Advanced Materials KW - ICP-MS KW - Antimicrobial material KW - ToF-SIMS PY - 2026 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-653990 DO - https://doi.org/10.1039/d5ra07099f SN - 2046-2069 VL - 16 IS - 3 SP - 2286 EP - 2297 PB - Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) AN - OPUS4-65399 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Schmitt, Johannes T1 - Data acquisition system for single particle inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (spICP-MS) with nanosecond time resolution N2 - This study presents our data acquisition system prototype for single particle inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (spICP-MS) with nanosecond time resolution (nanoDAQ) and a matching data processing approach for time-resolved data in the nanosecond range. The system continuously samples the secondary electron multiplier (SEM) detector signal with a dwell time of approximately 2 ns and enables detection of gold nanoparticles (AuNP) as small as 7.5 nm with a commercial single quadrupole ICP-MS instrument. [1] Analysis of acquired transient data is based on the temporal distance between detector events and a derived ion event density. It was shown that the inverse logarithm of the distance between detector events is proportional to particle size. Also, the number of detector events per particle can be used to calibrate and determine the particle number concentration (PNC) of a nanoparticle dispersion. Particle-by-particle-based analysis of ion event density and other parameters derived from nanosecond time resolution show promising results. High data acquisition frequency of the systems allows recording of a statistically significant number of data points in 60 s or less, which leaves only the sample uptake and rinsing steps as remaining factors for limiting the total measurement time. T2 - 20th European Winter Conference on Plasma Spectrochemistry CY - Berlin, Germany DA - 02.03.2025 KW - ICP-MS KW - Instrumentation KW - Nano KW - Nanoparticle Characterization PY - 2025 AN - OPUS4-63599 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Engelhard, Carsten T1 - On ICP-MS with Nanosecond Time Resolution: From Nanoparticles to Microplastics N2 - In this presentation, recent developments in inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) instrumentation for particle characterization in complex mixtures will be reviewed. The current state-of-the-art in single-particle (sp) ICP-MS instrumentation for the detection and characterization of nanoparticles (NP) and microplastics (MPs) as well as remaining challenges will be discussed. While millisecond dwell times were used in the advent of spICP-MS, the use of microsecond dwell times helped to improve nanoparticle data quality and particle size detection limits. We could show that a custom-built high-speed data acquisition unit with microsecond time resolution (μsDAQ) can be used to successfully address issues of split-particle events and particle coincidence, to study the temporal profile of individual ion clouds, and to extend the linear dynamic range by compensating for dead time related count losses. Our latest development is an in-house built data acquisition system with nanosecond time resolution (nanoDAQ). Recording of the SEM signal by the nanoDAQ is performed on the nanosecond time scale with a dwell time of approximately 2 ns and enables detection of gold nanoparticles (AuNP) as small as 7.5 nm with a commercial single quadrupole ICP-MS instrument. [1] Analysis of acquired transient data is based on the temporal distance between detector events and a derived ion event density. It was shown that the inverse logarithm of the distance between detector events is proportional to particle size. Also, the number of detector events per particle can be used to calibrate and determine the particle number concentration (PNC) of a nanoparticle dispersion. In addition to inorganic nanoparticles, first results on the detection of microplastics with spICP-MS will be discussed. T2 - ANAKON 2025 CY - Leipzig, Germany DA - 10.03.2025 KW - Nano KW - Microplastics KW - Nanoparticle Characterization KW - ICP-MS KW - Instrumentation PY - 2025 AN - OPUS4-63580 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Engelhard, Carsten T1 - From Particles to PFAS: Recent Advances in Plasma-based Instrumentation Development N2 - In this presentation, recent advances in plasma spectrochemistry with hot and cold plasma sources for the direct detection of nanoparticles as well as per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) will be discussed. In the first part, single-particle inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (spICP-MS) with an in-house built data acquisition system with nanosecond time resolution (nanoDAQ) will be presented. In the second part, we turn to a cooler plasma source. Specifically, a flowing atmospheric-pressure afterglow source (FAPA) and its application for the direct mass spectrometric analysis of PFAS will be discussed. T2 - 20th European Winter Conference on Plasma Spectrochemistry CY - Berlin, Germany DA - 02.03.2025 KW - ICP-MS KW - Instrumentation KW - Nano KW - Nanoparticle Characterization KW - PFAS PY - 2025 AN - OPUS4-63581 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Schmitt, Johannes T1 - Data acquisition system for single particle inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (spICP-MS) with nanosecond time resolution N2 - This study presents our data acquisition system prototype for single particle inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (spICP-MS) with nanosecond time resolution (nanoDAQ) and a matching data processing approach for time-resolved data in the nanosecond range. The system continuously samples the secondary electron multiplier (SEM) detector signal with a dwell time of approximately 2 ns and enables detection of gold nanoparticles (AuNP) as small as 7.5 nm with a commercial single quadrupole ICP-MS instrument. [1] Analysis of acquired transient data is based on the temporal distance between detector events and a derived ion event density. It was shown that the inverse logarithm of the distance between detector events is proportional to particle size. Also, the number of detector events per particle can be used to calibrate and determine the particle number concentration (PNC) of a nanoparticle dispersion. [1] Particle-by-particle-based analysis of ion event density and other parameters derived from nanosecond time resolution show promising results. High data acquisition frequency of the systems allows recording of a statistically significant number of data points in 60 s or less, which leaves only the sample uptake and rinsing steps as remaining factors for limiting the total measurement time. T2 - ANAKON 2025 CY - Leipzig, Germany DA - 10.03.2025 KW - ICP-MS KW - Instrumentation KW - Nano KW - Nanoparticle Characterization PY - 2025 AN - OPUS4-63603 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Nakadi, Flavio V. T1 - Single-event analysis of discrete entities using microwave-induced nitrogen plasma–mass spectrometry N2 - ICP-MS has become a standard for (ultra)trace elemental analysis due to its excellent sensitivity and multi-element capabilities. However, its widespread use is hampered by spectral interferences—especially in the low mass range (<81 amu)—primarily arising from Ar-based polyatomic ions, such as ArO+ and Ar2+, which compromise the accurate quantification of key elements like Fe and Se.1 Over the years, improvements such as collision/reaction cells and sector-field configurations have helped mitigate these interferences, albeit often at the cost of instrument complexity and increased operational burden.The microwave-induced nitrogen plasma (MINP) source, sustained by microwaves at atmospheric pressure and using nitrogen as the plasma gas, offers a fundamentally different plasma environment. Nitrogen is not only more economical (40-60%) and readily available than Ar, but also avoids the generation of problematic Ar-based interferences. While MINP had been previously applied in optical emission and bulk mass spectrometry,2 its implementation in single-event detection had not yet been demonstrated. This study pioneers the application of MINP-MS in single-event mode for real-time, high-throughput characterization of NPs, cells, and MPs. The evaluation began with Fe2O3 NPs monitoring the 56Fe nuclide, with a limit of detection of 8.6 ag for Fe, equivalent to a particle size threshold of 19 nm—surpassing the detection capabilities of quadrupole-based ICP-MS systems. Size distribution results obtained by SP-MINP-MS for Fe2O3 NPs (20–70 nm) matched closely with transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and dynamic light scattering (DLS), confirming the method’s accuracy. For Se, despite its high ionization energy, metallic SeNPs (150 and 250 nm) were reliably quantified by monitoring 80Se. A calibration curve constructed using SeNP standards yielded excellent linearity (R2 = 0.9994). This approach was further extended to single-cell analysis, using Se-enriched yeast (SELM-1 CRM) as a model. A transport efficiency-independent calibration strategy was employed, relying on SeNPs to determine Se content per cell. The results showed strong agreement with data from conventional SC-ICP-MS, with average Se masses of ~65 fg per cell, validating the performance of SC-MINP-MS for biological systems. Additionally, the instrument's capability to handle large, low atomic number particles was demonstrated via the analysis of polystyrene (PS) and polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) MPs. These MPs (2.5–3.0 µm) were quantified by monitoring 12C+ signals and applying a calibration strategy using citric acid as a standard. The resulting size distributions closely matched nominal sizes, reinforcing the system’s robustness for micrometer-sized polymeric materials. Event durations ranging from 470 to over 900 µs were consistent with literature values for single-entity ICP-MS and correlated well with particle size. These findings establish single-event MINP-MS as a promising analytical platform for analyzing discrete entities. It provides significant advantages over conventional Ar-based ICP-MS, including reduced interferences, lower operational cost, and comparable or superior sensitivity for analytes such as Fe and Se. By avoiding the limitations of Ar-based plasmas and enabling accurate quantification across a wide range of particle types and sizes, MINP-MS in single-event mode opens new avenues for high-resolution, interference-free elemental analysis at the individual entity level. T2 - 17th Rio Symposium on Atomic Spectrometry (17th RSAS) CY - São Pedro City, Brazil DA - 09.11.2025 KW - MICAP-MS KW - Nitrogen plasma KW - Nanoparticles KW - Cells KW - Microplastic KW - Single particle KW - Single event KW - ICP-MS PY - 2025 AN - OPUS4-64954 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Zuliani, T. T1 - Advancing Stable and Long-lived Radiogenic Isotope Ratio Measurements of Environmental Pollutants N2 - The isotopic compositions of elements vary in the environment due to processes such as radioactive decay, cosmic ray spallation, mass-dependent and mass-independent fractionation, and different anthropogenic sources such as industrial activities, nuclear weapon testing, nuclear accidents, as well as natural phenomena long-range atmospheric and water transport, climate change, etc. Isotope ratio data obtained by mass spectrometry now plays an important role as tracers of a multitude of processes in Earth and environmental sciences. Inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) is a widely used technique for detecting variations in isotopic abundances in e.g., environmental samples. Recent advancements in mass spectrometric instrumentation have significantly enhanced sensitivity and precision, enabling the reliable detection of even minute variations in the isotopic composition of most elements with more than one natural isotope. However, to fully realize these new capabilities, a significant analytical challenge remains due to a vast number of analyte/matrix combinations, concomitant matrix effects, spectral interferences, and instrumental isotopic fractionation that must be characterized before and during the measurements. Success in developing new and improved methods for stable and long-lived radiogenic isotope ratio measurements by mass spectrometric methods depends on improvements in the reduction and quantification of uncertainties associated with sample preparation, instrumentation, and external calibration. The goal of this presentation is to show the key findings of the European Partnership on Metrology project “Metrology for the harmonisation of measurements of environmental pollutants in Europe” - MetroPOEM (https://www.npl.co.uk/euramet/metropoem), with a focus on the ICP-MS techniques used for isotope ratio measurements. Several elements were used as model systems for the development and optimisation of sample preparation and measurement procedures, including Li, B, Cr, Cd, Ni, Sb, Pb, and U. Isotope ratios of these elements determined by multi-collector ICP-MS, sector field ICPMS, quadrupole ICP-MS, and ICP-MS/MS will be assessed and compared. Data on their performance will be presented and assessed in terms of accuracy and precision. Comprehensive uncertainty budgets for the determination of the isotope ratios of the selected elements by different calibration approaches will be presented. The presented results will highlight the potential of recent advances in ICP-MS technology. T2 - 11th Nordic Conference on Plasma Spectrochemistry CY - Loen, Norway DA - 09.06.2024 KW - Isotope analysis KW - ICP-MS KW - Measurement uncertainty PY - 2024 AN - OPUS4-61599 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Schardt, Annika A1 - Schmitt, Johannes A1 - Engelhard, Carsten T1 - Single particle inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry with nanosecond time resolution N2 - In this proof-of-principle study, we present our contribution to single particle inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (spICP-MS) developments with a novel in-house built data acquisition system with nanosecond time resolution (nanoDAQ) and a matching data processing approach. The new system can continuously sample the secondary electron multiplier (SEM) detector signal and enables the detection of gold nanoparticles (AuNP) as small as 7.5 nm with the commercial single quadrupole ICP-MS instrument used in this study. Recording of the SEM signal by the nanoDAQ is performed with a dwell time of approximately 4 ns. A tailored method was developed to process this type of transient data, which is based on determining the temporal distance between detector events that is denoted as event gap (EG). We found that the inverse logarithm of EG is proportional to the particle size and that the number of detector events corresponding to a particle signal distribution can be used to calibrate and determine the particle number concentration (PNC) of a nanoparticle dispersion. Due to the high data acquisition frequency, a statistically significant number of data points can be obtained in 60 s or less and the main time limitation for analyses is merely the sample uptake time and rinsing step between analyte solutions. At this stage, the data processing method provides average information on complete data sets only and will be adapted to enable particle-by-particle analysis with future hardware/software revision. KW - ICP-MS KW - Nanoparticles KW - Nanosecond time resolution KW - Single particle detection PY - 2024 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-612706 DO - https://doi.org/10.1039/d3ja00373f SN - 1364-5544 SN - 0267-9477 VL - 39 IS - 2 SP - 389 EP - 400 PB - Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) CY - Cambridge AN - OPUS4-61270 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Billimoria, K. A1 - Andresen, Elina A1 - Resch-Genger, Ute A1 - Goenaga-Infante, H. T1 - A Strategy for Quantitative Imaging of Lanthanide Tags in A549 Cells Using the Ratio of Internal Standard Elements N2 - One remaining handicap for spatially resolved elemental quantification in biological samples is the lack of a suitable internal standard (IS) that can be reliably measured across both calibration standards and samples. In this work, multielement quantitative intracellular imaging of cells tagged with lanthanide nanoparticles containing key lanthanides, e.g., Eu and Ho, is described using a novel strategy that uses the ratio of IS elements and LA-ICP-TOFMS analysis. To achieve this, an internal standard layer is deposited onto microscope slides containing either gelatin calibration standards or Euand Ho-tagged cell samples. This IS layer contains both gallium (Ga) and indium (In). Monitoring either element as an IS individually showed significant variability in intensity signal between sample or standards prepared across multiple microscope slides, which is indicative of the difficulties in producing a homogeneous film at intracellular resolution. However, normalization of the lanthanide signal to the ratio of the IS elements improved the calibration correlation coefficients from 0.9885 to 0.9971 and 0.9805 to 0.9980 for Eu and Ho, respectively, while providing a consistent signal to monitor the ablation behavior between standards and samples. By analyzing an independent quality control (QC) gelatin sample spiked with Eu and Ho, it was observed that without normalization to the IS ratio the concentrations of Eu and Ho were highly biased by approximately 20% in comparison to the expected values. Similarly, this overestimation was also observed in the lanthanide concentration distribution of the cell samples in comparison with the normalized data. KW - Nanoparticle KW - Nano KW - Luminescence KW - Quality assurance KW - Synthesis KW - Standardization KW - Reference material KW - ICP-MS KW - LA-ICP-MS KW - Quantification KW - Bioimaging PY - 2024 DO - https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.analchem.4c02763 SN - 0003-2700 VL - 96 IS - 30 SP - 12570 EP - 12576 AN - OPUS4-60768 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Ecke, Alexander A1 - Westphalen, Tanja A1 - Retzmann, Anika A1 - Schneider, Rudolf T1 - Factors affecting the hydrolysis of the antibiotic amoxicillin in the aquatic environment N2 - The environmental fate of the frequently used broad-spectrum β-lactam antibiotic amoxicillin (AMX) is of high concern regarding the potential evolution of antimicrobial resistance (AMR). Moreover, it is known that AMX is prone to hydrolysis, yielding a variety of hydrolysis products (HPs) with yet unknown effects. Studies to identify those HPs and investigate their formation mechanisms have been reported but a long-term study on their stability in real water samples was missing. In this regard, we investigated the hydrolysis of AMX at two concentration levels in four distinct water types under three different storage conditions over two months. Concentrations of AMX and four relevant HPs were monitored by an LC-MS/MS method revealing pronounced differences in the hydrolysis rate of AMX in tap water and mineral water on the one hand (fast) and surface water on the other(slow). In this context, the occurrence, relative intensities, and stability of certain HPs are more dependent on the water type than on the storage condition. As clarified by ICP-MS, the main difference between the water types was the content of the metals copper and zinc which are supposed to catalyze AMX hydrolysis demonstrating an effective method to degrade AMX at ambient conditions. KW - β-lactam KW - Stability KW - Degradation KW - Hydrolysis products KW - LC-MS/MS KW - ICP-MS PY - 2023 DO - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chemosphere.2022.136921 SN - 0045-6535 VL - 311 SP - 136921 PB - Elsevier Ltd. AN - OPUS4-56124 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER -