TY - CONF A1 - Tuma, Dirk T1 - Trace-level ammonia-water interactions in hydrogen: challenges in purity analysis using Optical-Feedback Cavity-Enhanced Absorption Spectroscopy (OF-CEAS) N2 - ISO 14687 defines a threshold of 100 ppb ammonia for hydrogen to be used in fuel cells. This work presents analysis methods using OF-CEAS and discusses moisture-related surface effects on the results. T2 - Gas Analysis 2026 CY - Paris, France DA - 27.01.2026 KW - OF-CEAS KW - Ammonia KW - Moisture effects PY - 2026 AN - OPUS4-65480 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Blume, Simon T1 - Femtosecond vs. Nanosecond Laser-induced XUV Spectroscopy (LIXS) N2 - In contrast to laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS), measuring after a delay as long as a few microseconds, laser-induced XUV spectroscopy (LIXS) takes advantage of emissions from the very first instant of the pristine plasma. This process exhibits stable and intense line and recombination emissions in the XUV-range. Therefore, common challenges for precise measurements (e.g. quantification efforts) in LIBS caused by signal intensity fluctuations due to matrix effects and plasma-flicker noise are improved, as shown for ns-pulses. A femtosecond laser (pulse length ~100 fs) interacts fundamentally different with matter than a nanosecond laser. Of the many photons needed for ionization of the sample, less are absorbed via inverse Bremsstrahlung and more in a Franck-Condon multiphoton absorption (MPA) process. In combination with the higher peak power, and therefore higher initial plasma temperature (> 10 eV), atoms are selectively ionized to a higher degree while at the same time thermal dissipation and equilibration is reduced. This specificity in excitation leads to a reduced background and the highly ionized atoms overwhelmingly emit the desired XUV-radiation. Thus, fs-LIXS promises to lead to “cleaner” spectra with sharper separation of the emission lines. The capabilities of a fs-LIXS setup in comparison to ns-LIXS will be discussed. Samples of pure elements (Al, Si, Ni, Fe, Mg), as well as composite samples (CaF, LiF, PTFE, polypropylene) serve as model systems to demonstrate these capabilities. T2 - EMSLIBS 2025 CY - Senlis, France DA - 26.01.2026 KW - Femtosecond KW - LIXS KW - XUV KW - Elemental analysis PY - 2026 AN - OPUS4-65470 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Palásti, Dávid Jenö T1 - Utilizing modern fiber lasers for LIBS N2 - The development of laser sources plays a very important role in the quick advancements in the field of LIBS. However, the development of fiber lasers went mostly unnoticed by the wider LIBS community. These laser sources, traditionally used in industrial cutting and welding processes, despite their high-power output (hundreds of watts) and are very robust nature, were neglected, because they used to work only in continuous mode. Modern fiber lasers however, offer pulsed output with a couple of mJ-s pulse energy, which can be adequate for certain tasks [1,2]. Furthermore, the pulse duration and the pulse repetition rate can be varied in a reasonably wide range, while their price is a fraction of the ones traditionally used in research. In the recent years, our groups made experiences with modern fiber lasers to evaluate the feasibility of their usage in LIBS. The initial experiments proved that they are not just suitable for standard analytical tasks such as quantitative or qualitative analysis, but their unique set of features makes them capable for fundamental research, like no other laser sources currently on the market. The relatively low energy and elongated profile of the pulses are very efficient in ablation and in the generation of low temperature plasmas [3], which means the ionic lines are less numerous, while the emission is mostly free from the background emission typical for the early stages of the plasma lifetime. It can make spectrometer gating and signal integration much simpler and robust. A thorough set of investigations of single pulse, double pulse and even continuous irradiation experiments was performed. The effects of various parameters, such as energy, duration and shape of the pulse as well as inter pulse delay were investigated on the generated signal focusing mainly the signal intensity, the self-absorption and the width of the peaks as well as the plasma properties. T2 - EMSLIBS 2026 CY - Senlis, France DA - 26.01.2026 KW - LIBS KW - Fiber laser PY - 2026 AN - OPUS4-65561 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Hufgard, Josefin T1 - AIM Forward: Acoustic Ion Manipulation for Efficient Ambient-Pressure Ion Control N2 - In ion-based spectrometry techniques the possibility to manipulate ions is fundamentally important. Currently used ion optics mostly rely on magnetic or electric fields. The electromagnetic forces compete with ion diffusion and are therefore most effective under low-pressure conditions. Therefore, high-pressure ion optics pose challenges related to elevated powers and potentials as well as complex structures and electrode contamination. Acoustic Ion Manipulation (AIM) is a recently discovered phenomenon that relies on the unique interactions between gas-phase ions and acoustic waves. This presentation shows selected patterns of ion manipulation, highlights the flexibility of AIM and discusses its current limitations and potentials. T2 - DGMS Annual Conference 2026 CY - Leipzig, Germany DA - 10.03.2026 KW - Acoustic ion manipulation KW - Mass spectrometry PY - 2026 AN - OPUS4-65680 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Zöllner, Moritz T1 - Raman spectroscopy as a thermometric tool for the analysis of mortar binders N2 - The reconstruction of the thermal history of anthropogenic materials is crucial for understanding historical manufacturing techniques. Preparatory parameters such as firing temperature, heating and cooling rates, soaking time, and kiln atmosphere significantly affect the chemical and structural properties of the final product. Comparing historical materials with replicas produced under well-defined laboratory conditions helps identify indicators for these parameters. This comparative approach is greatly enhanced by spectroscopic analyses. Raman spectroscopy has proven to be a powerful tool in this field due to its high sensitivity to crystal-chemical alterations and high spatial resolution. The results of thermal experiments with gypsum and carbonate raw materials at burning temperatures up to 1000 °C are presented. Precise measurements of Raman peak positions and Raman band widths enable the differentiation of chemically similar phases. Changes in the Raman band parameters are evident even after the subsequent hydration-hardening process of the fired samples, allowing the spectral discrimination of samples treated at different temperatures steps. These findings from the thermal experiments are further applied to Raman micro-spectroscopic mappings of medieval and reenacted mortars. The extracted Raman band parameters show comparable values between the experimental and real-life samples, proving Raman spectroscopy as a suitable tool for estimating the burning temperature and thus elucidating the manufacturing procedures of anthropogenic materials. T2 - Jahrestagung Archäometrie und Denkmalpflege 2025 CY - Dresden, Germany DA - 18.03.2025 KW - Raman spectroscopy KW - Mineral thermometry PY - 2025 AN - OPUS4-62778 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Wilke, Olaf A1 - Poelke, Birte A1 - Klein, Luise A1 - Rohloff, Alexander A1 - Hoffmann, Holger T1 - Initial VOC Emissions from Consumer Products Determined in Micro-Scale Test Chambers: Results of a Round Robin Test N2 - Emissions of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from consumer products may have a negative impact on indoor air quality, potentially also affecting human wellbeing. Since consumers may be exposed to these VOCs immediately after e.g. unwrapping of newly purchased products, reliable analytical methods are needed to determine air concentration profiles in the early phase of VOC emissions. Concerning typical sample sizes of consumer products, micro-scale test chambers (μ-chambers) were considered suitable for this purpose. In addition, compared to medium- or large-scale test chambers, μ-chambers require lower initial investment and operational costs, and offer options for emissions screenings where higher sample throughput is essential. For these reasons, a μ-chamber-based method to determine initial concentrations of VOCs emitting within the first hours of simulated product use was developed. The chamber air was frequently sampled on desorption tubes loaded with Tenax® TA, followed by quantification of emitted VOCs via thermal desorption gas chromatography mass spectrometry (TD-GC-MS). The method was assessed in a round robin test involving eight participating laboratories from 2 countries. Pieces of a rain poncho (sample area A: 2.01·10-4 m2) emitting cyclohexanone, phenol, 2-ethylhexanol, naphthalene and isophorone in significant concentrations were distributed as sample material. Each laboratory conducted triplicate emission tests over a period of 48 h in μ-chambers with volumes of 44 or 114 mL. The loading factors L of 4.57 m2·m-3 (44 mL) or 1.76 m2·m-3 (114 mL) and air flow rates of 24 mL·min-1 resulted in area-specific air flow rates q of 7.17 m3·m-2·h-1 in both chamber types. The temperature was set to 23°C and, if possible, relative humidity was set to approx. 50%. The chamber air was sampled after 0.5, 1, 2, 4, 24 and 48 hours. In addition, to assess the analytical performance, each participating laboratory received two analyte-spiked Tenax® TA-loaded desorption tubes for quality control (QC). Very low relative standard deviations (11–17%) were obtained for the QC test. The results of the emissions tests in the early phase (0.5–4 h) were also adequate, with acceptable z scores (|z|≤2.00) received by six to seven participating laboratories. All eight laboratories obtained acceptable z scores after the longer sampling periods (24 and 48 h). Hence, the inter-laboratory comparability of the results obtained with the developed μ-chamber method was successfully confirmed. T2 - Healthy Buildings Europe 2025 CY - Reykjavik, Iceland DA - 08.06.2025 KW - VOC Emissions KW - Consumer Product KW - Test Chamber KW - Round Robin Test PY - 2025 AN - OPUS4-63706 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Abad Andrade, Carlos Enrique T1 - Lithium isotope fractionation as a diagnostic tool for aging lithium-ion batteries N2 - Lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) are central to modern energy storage technologies, powering applications from portable electronics to electric vehicles and grid storage systems. Their popularity comes from their high energy density, efficiency, and extended cycle life. However, over time, various aging mechanisms lead to capacity loss, increased internal resistance, and, ultimately, battery failure. Understanding and predicting these aging processes is crucial for enhancing the reliability and longevity of LIBs. This necessity makes the development of advanced diagnostic tools essential. This study uses plasma-based spectrometry techniques to explore lithium isotope fractionation (LIF) as a predictive tool for monitoring LIB aging and degradation. Mass spectrometric techniques —including MC-ICP-MS, LA-ICP-MS, and MICAP-MS— were employed to analyze lithium isotopic composition in both new and aged lithium cobalt oxide (LCO) cells, including lab-made coin cells and commercial batteries. An isotopic fractionation was identified during electrochemical cycling: 6Li migrates towards the anode, while 7Li accumulates in the cathode. These isotopic patterns correlate with structural degradation, including solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) growth and crack formation, as confirmed by FIB-SEM, XANES, and EXAFS analyses. This correlation demonstrates that LIF aligns with key aging mechanisms in model coin cells and commercial batteries, such as capacity fade and impedance growth. LIF provides a powerful diagnostic tool for battery health monitoring and aging prediction by linking isotopic fractionation to structural degradation. This approach offers significant potential to extend battery lifespan and improve the reliability of energy storage systems. T2 - ANAKON 2025 CY - Leipzig, Germany DA - 10.03.2025 KW - Isotope KW - Lithium KW - Battery aging KW - Degradation KW - Fractionation KW - Battery PY - 2025 AN - OPUS4-63487 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Abad Andrade, Carlos Enrique T1 - Versatility of nitrogen microwave-induced plasma mass spectrometry in elemental and isotopic analysis N2 - The introduction of Nitrogen-based Microwave Inductively Coupled Atmospheric-Pressure Plasma Mass Spectrometry (MICAP-MS) addresses the necessity for a plasma source that matches the capabilities of traditional argon-based Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS) while exploiting the availability and cost-effectiveness of nitrogen gas. MICAP-MS uses nitrogen plasma, offering significant advantages such as reduced operational costs and eliminating specific isobaric interferences common in argon plasma systems [1]. This presentation explores the principles of MICAP-MS, highlighting its similarities to conventional ICP-MS in terms of analytical performance while emphasizing unique benefits like eliminating interferences from argon-based polyatomic species. MICAP-MS exhibits robust performance using nitrogen gas of varying purities—including ultra-high purity and industrial-grade nitrogen—without compromising analytical results [2]. We have applied MICAP-MS for multielement analysis in soil samples, serving as a proof of concept for environmental monitoring applications. The technique achieved figures of merit comparable to traditional ICP-MS, even when analyzing real-world samples with complex matrices [2]. MICAP-MS demonstrated high tolerance to high-concentration matrices, maintaining accuracy and precision without extensive sample preparation or matrix separation [3]. In clinical diagnostics, MICAP-MS was employed for the precise and traceable quantification of calcium, iron, and selenium in human serum using isotope dilution analysis [4]. These elements often face interferences in argon-based ICP-MS due to argon-associated isobaric interferences (40Ca+, 56Fe+, and 80Se+); however, MICAP-MS effectively overcomes these challenges, providing traceable and accurate determinations. The stability of the microwave plasma in MICAP-MS facilitates precise isotopic analysis. This capability investigated age-induced lithium isotope fractionation in lithium-ion batteries, offering critical insights into battery aging mechanisms and performance degradation [5]. MICAP-MS is a versatile analytical tool that combines the operational benefits of nitrogen plasma with the strengths of traditional ICP-MS. Its ability to handle complex matrices, reduce interferences, and perform precise elemental and isotopic analyses across various applications makes it a valuable instrument. T2 - European Winter Conference on Plasma Spectrochemistry CY - Berlin, Germany DA - 02.03.2025 KW - MICAP-MS KW - Nitrogen plasma KW - Isotope dilution analysis KW - Matrix tolerance KW - Argon interference elimination KW - Trace analysis PY - 2025 AN - OPUS4-63485 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Schneider, Rudolf A1 - Konthur, Zoltán A1 - Jaeger, Carsten T1 - Reference Material (IgG) for CCQM-PAWG Key Comparison N2 - BAM proposes a recombinant human IgG (anti-tetanus monoclonal antibody SA13) as candidate material for the 2027 CCQM-PAWG key comparison on antibody purity. The antibody is produced via hybridoma and recombinant expression systems, with detailed sequence and glycosylation profiling. Analytical methods include MALDI-TOF-MS, SEC, DLS, and UV-vis spectroscopy to assess purity, aggregation, and stability. Preliminary results show high purity, low heterogeneity, and consistent size distribution. A minimum of 40 mg IgG is required, with 100 mg preferred for deeper characterization. Production is expected to be completed by the end of 2026, with potential for a joint technical project. T2 - Spring Meeting of CCQM-PAWG CY - Sèvres, France DA - 06.04.2025 KW - Antibodies KW - Research Grade Test Material KW - Mass spectrometry KW - Affinity PY - 2025 AN - OPUS4-63503 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 - Schardt, Annika T1 - Fast screening method for nanoparticles in surface waters via nanosecond spICP-MS and a tailored automated ion cloud recognition algorithm N2 - Single particle inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (spICP-MS) is a powerful technique for nanoparticle (NP) analysis in aqueous samples, which provides essential information on size distribution and particle number concentration (PNC) of nanometer-sized particles in various water samples for risk assessment and toxicity tests. In contrast to spectroscopic particle analysis methods, this mass spectrometry-based tool can provide chemical information on the elemental composition of NPs after minimal sample preparation. We recently presented a novel spICP-MS instrumentation and tailored software that acquires data with nanosecond time resolution, lowering the particle size detection limit to 7 nm for gold NP (1). The system directly samples the output signal of the electron multiplier and records the detection of individual ions with a time resolution of only a few nanoseconds. With nanosecond time resolution, we were able to visualize profiles of ion clouds that were produced from ionization of nanoparticles in the ICP on a single-ion basis and to use the temporal gap between those ions for particle sizing. Our latest improvement of the data acquisition system (nanoDAQ) features ca. 2 ns integration time and a matching processing software prototype, which automatically recognizes and counts ion clouds in the transient data. With this combination we achieved an experimentally determined size detection limit of ca. 5 nm for gold nanoparticles. A feasibility study shows that the nanoDAQ in combination with the ion cloud recognition algorithm succeeds in fast detection and counting of NP containing Ag, Ce, or Zr in waste water and surface water samples from the area of Siegen. PNCs ranged from ca. 7 x 106–2 x 108 particles/L, which is in good agreement with concentrations reported for similar water samples in the literature. T2 - 56th Annual Conference of the German Society for Mass Spectrometry (DGMS) CY - Göttingen, Germany DA - 04.03.2025 KW - Instrumentation KW - Mass Spectrometry KW - Nanoparticles KW - spICP-MS PY - 2025 AN - OPUS4-63662 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Escobar-Carranza, Cristian C. T1 - On the Detection of Microplastics by Flowing Atmospheric-Pressure Afterglow Mass Spectrometry (FAPA-MS) N2 - Microplastics (MPs) are widespread pollutant particles analyzed using Raman and FTIR spectroscopy combined with optical microscopy. Pyrolysis (Py) or thermal extraction and desorption (TED) coupled with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) are used for the characterization of MPs, though GC limits sample throughput. This work explores direct, rapid MP analysis using high-resolution (HR) MS and a plasma-based ambient desorption/ionization source (FAPA, flowing atmospheric-pressure afterglow). Previously, an in-house pin-to-capillary (p2c) FAPA source coupled to HRMS characterized MPs made in-house from polystyrene (PS), polypropylene (PP), low-density polyethylene (LDPE), and polycarbonate (PC). Simultaneous detection of characteristic ions and particle imaging on a sampling mesh was feasible, with detection limits (LOD) for PS MPs at 311 µm in size and 1.3 mg in mass. Principal component analysis (PCA) was used for particle differentiation. This work introduces a high-temperature desorption method (~500 °C) with economical and commercially available parts and a tailored housing combined with a halo-shaped (h-FAPA) source configuration. The study expands to include poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET), poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA), and poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC) MPs (125–250 µm). Data visualization and interpretation were performed using Kendrick mass defect plots and other multivariate analysis tools. Compared to earlier results, h-FAPA-MS yielded at least 65% higher ion signals for selected ions in all MPs. These ions were detected mainly as protonated species [M+H]+. Higher thermal desorption temperatures aided in detecting all MPs, as the presence of higher molecular weight fragments added specificity to the analysis. Notably, experiments with the h-FAPA source demonstrated lower mass-based LODs for MPs than the p2c-FAPA source (e.g., 14 µg vs 1.3 mg for PS, respectively). T2 - 56th Annual Conference of the German Society for Mass Spectrometry (DGMS) CY - Göttingen, Germany DA - 04.03.2025 KW - Instrumentation KW - Mass Spectrometry KW - FAPA-MS KW - Microplastics PY - 2025 AN - OPUS4-63663 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Resch-Genger, Ute T1 - Assessing different types of silica networks for the complete protection of nir luminescent molecular rubies from oxygen quenching in air N2 - The application of emerging luminophores such as near-infrared (NIR) emissive earth-abundant chromium(III) (CrIII) complexes and triplet-triplet annihilation upconversion (TTA-UC) systems in air as optical reporters for bioimaging or photonic materials for energy conversion requires simple and efficient strategies for their complete protection from luminescence quenching by oxygen. Therefore, we explored the influence of sol-gel synthesis routes on the oxygen protection efficiency of the resulting core and core/shell silica nanoparticles (SiO2 NPs), utilizing the molecular ruby-type luminophores CrPF6 ([Cr(ddpd)2](PF6)3; ddpd = N,N’-dimethyl- N,N’-dipyridin-2-ylpyridin-2,6-diamine) and CrBF4 ([Cr(ddpd)2](BF4)3) with their oxygen-dependent, but polarity-, proticity-, viscosity-, and concentration-independent luminescence as optical probes for oxygen permeability. The sol-gel chemistry routes we assessed include the classical Stöber method and the underexplored larginine approach, which relies on the controlled hydrolysis of tetraethoxysilane (TEOS) in a biphasic cyclohexane/water system with the catalyst l-arginine. As demonstrated by luminescence measurements of air- and argon-saturated dispersions of CrPF6- and CrBF4-stained SiO2 NPs of different size and particle architecture, utilizing the luminescence decay kinetics of argon-saturated solutions of CrPF6 and CrBF4 in acetonitrile (ACN) as benchmarks, only SiO2 NPs or shells synthesized by the l-arginine approach provided complete oxygen protection of the CrIII complexes under ambient conditions. We ascribe the different oxygen shielding efficiencies of the silica networks explored to differences in density and surface chemistry of the resulting nanomaterials and coatings, leading to different oxygen permeabilities. Our l-arginine based silica encapsulation strategy can open the door for the efficient usage of oxygen-sensitive luminophores and TTA-UC systems as optical reporters and spectral shifters in air in the future. T2 - eMRS Strasbourg CY - Strasbourg, France DA - 26.05.2025 KW - Quality assurance KW - Fluorescence KW - Nano KW - Particle KW - Synthesis KW - Quantum yield KW - NIR KW - Mechanism KW - Characterization KW - Electron microscopy KW - Silica KW - Oxygen sensing KW - Surface KW - Doping KW - Lifetime KW - Cr(III) complex PY - 2025 AN - OPUS4-63300 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Temgoua, Ranil C. T. T1 - Electrochemistry Coupled to Mass Spectrometry and in silico Methods As an Alternative Strategy for Pesticides Ecotoxicity Assessment N2 - The widespread occurrence of neonicotinoid insecticides and their transformation / degradation products (TPs) in the aquatic environment raises health and environmental concerns. As a consequence pesticides, and to a lesser degree their degradation products, are monitored by authorities both in surface waters and drinking waters. In vitro and in vivo experimental models, mainly based on cell cultures, animals, healthy humans and clinical trials, are useful approaches for identifying the main metabolic pathways. However, time, cost, and matrix complexity often hinder the success of these methods. In this study, we propose an alternative non-enzymatic approach that combines electrochemistry (EC) with liquid chromatography (LC), gas chromatography (GC), mass spectrometry (MS), and in silico methods to evaluate the ecotoxicity of pesticides. In this study the formation of degradation products from electrochemical reactors (EC) of neonicotinoid insecticides and phenylurea herbicides were investigated. Firstly, electrochemical experiments were conducted using three primary methodological approaches: cyclic voltammetry (CV) and linear sweep voltammetry (LSV) for investigating electrochemical behavior and controlled-potential coulometry (CPC) for electrosynthesis. Three distinct electrochemical cell configurations were employed: the µ-PrepCell and ReactorCell for direct coupling with mass spectrometry (MS), and the SynthesisCell for batch electrosynthesis. These experiments utilized glassy carbon (GC) and boron-doped diamond (BDD) electrodes. Secondly the chemical structures of the main EC-degradation products were identified using gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry and liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC-MS and LCMSMS). The structural elucidation of ppesticides oxidation/reduction products was based on retention time, m/z ratio in positive mode and fragmentation pattern. The ecotoxicity of neonicotinoid insecticides and the proposed TPs were estimated with the ecological structure–activity relationships (ECOSAR) model. Electrochemistry mass spectrometry hyphenated techniques represent an accessible, rapid and reliable tool to elucidate the oxidative/reductive degradation of neonicotinoids and phenylurea, including reactive degradation products and conjugates. T2 - 247th ECS (The Electrochemical Society) Meeting CY - Montreal, Canada DA - 18.05.2025 KW - Material safety KW - Quality ensurance KW - Chemical safety PY - 2025 AN - OPUS4-63531 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Herter, Sven-Oliver T1 - Quantifying Ergot Alkaloids in Food Using Newly Developed Stable Isotope-Labeled Standards N2 - Ergot alkaloids are a class of mycotoxins produced by fungi of the Claviceps genus, which are commonly found in contaminated cereals. Due to their toxic effects, the European Union introduced the first regulatory limit values for ergot alkaloids in food in 2022. Accurate quantification is crucial for food safety monitoring; however, the lack of stable isotopically labeled (SIL) standards has been a major limitation in the development of analytical methods via HPLC-MS/MS. In order to overcome this challenge, all 12 priority ergot alkaloids were synthesized as 13CD3-labeled analogues for the first time and used as internal standards for mass spectrometry-based analysis. Using HPLC-MS/MS, we quantified ergot alkaloids in various food matrices, including bread, rye – and wheat flour, and bran. The performance of the SIL standards was evaluated by comparing results obtained using external calibration and standard addition approaches. Our study demonstrates that the use of SIL standards significantly improves the accuracy and precision of ergot alkaloid quantification by correcting for matrix effects and signal variations in mass spectrometric analysis. The newly synthesized 13CD3-labeled ergot alkaloids provide a valuable tool for food safety assessments, ensuring more reliable and reproducible data. Furthermore, these findings support the advancement of analytical methods for ergot alkaloid monitoring, contributing to improved food quality control and regulatory compliance. T2 - 16th International Symposium on Biological and Environmental Reference Materials CY - Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada DA - 01.06.2025 KW - Reference Material KW - HPLC-MS/MS KW - Metrology KW - Stable isotope dilution analysis KW - Quality assurance KW - Ergot alkaloids KW - Food Safety PY - 2025 AN - OPUS4-63409 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Gawlitza, Kornelia T1 - Using Dual Fluorescent Molecularly Imprinted Particles Coupled with a Miniaturized Opto-Microfluidic Platform for On-Site Detection of Perfluoroalkyl Carboxylic Acids N2 - Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are a group of synthetic organofluorine chemicals widely used in the production of various materials, including firefighting foams, adhesives, and coatings that resist stains and oil. In recent years, PFAS have gained attention as emerging environmental contaminants, with particular emphasis on perfluoroalkyl carboxylic acids (PFCAs), the most common type of PFAS. PFCAs are defined by a fully fluorinated carbon chain and a charged carboxylic acid group. They have been classified as Substances of Very High Concern and included in the REACH Candidate List due to their persistence, resistance to biodegradation, and toxicological impacts. Traditional methods for analyzing PFCAs, like GC-MS, HRMS, and HPLC-based techniques, are time-consuming, non-portable, expensive, and require specialized expertise. On the other hand, fluorescence assays offer a user-friendly, portable, and cost-effective alternative with high sensitivity and quick results, particularly when the binding of the analyte causes a specific increase in the probe’s fluorescence. Combining these probes with a carrier platform and a miniaturized optofluidic device presents a promising approach for PFCA monitoring. In this study, a new guanidine BODIPY fluorescent indicator monomer was synthesized, characterized, and incorporated into a molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP) designed for the specific detection of perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA). The MIP layer was formed on silica core nanoparticles doped with tris(bipyridine)ruthenium(II) chloride, serving as an optical internal reference for calibration-free assays. In combination with an extraction step prior to sample analysis, this system enables selective and reliable detection of PFCAs in surface water samples, minimizing interference from competing substances, matrix effects, and other factors. When integrated into an opto-microfluidic setup, the assay provided a compact, user-friendly detection system capable of detecting micromolar levels of PFOA in under 15 minutes from surface water samples. T2 - ANAKON2025 CY - Leipzig, Germany DA - 10.03.2025 KW - Perfluorooctanoic Acid (PFOA) KW - On-site detection KW - Fluorescence KW - Microfluidics KW - Molecularly Imprinted Polymers PY - 2025 AN - OPUS4-62712 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Prakash, Swayam T1 - Fluorescence Spectroscopy as an Analytical Tool for Rapid and Sensitive Faecal Pigments Detection: From Fundamentals to Onsite Applications N2 - W.H.O estimated that globally at least 2 billion people use drinking water sources contaminated with faeces [1] and according to UNICEF, most of these faecal detection methods are expensive, time-consuming (18–24 h time to result),[2] and, with few exceptions, not suited for on-site analysis.[3] Hence, there is an urgent need for the development of analytical methods that allow to unequivocally test for drinking water quality directly on-site. Today, microbial detection methods primarily targeting E. coli, the major faecal indicator bacteria, are still the prevalent methods for detecting faecal contamination of drinking and recreational waters. As an alternative, Schlesinger proposed the detection of urobilin (UB), a metabolic degradation product of haemoglobin occurring in all mammals, as faecal indicator pigment (FIP) through enhancement of its weak fluorescence by complexation with Zn2+ in alcoholic media already 120 years ago.[4] However, the major limitation of this method is the only weak enhancement of the intrinsically very weak UB fluorescence in aqueous media, requiring either the use of organic solvents or very sensitive instrumentation to reach the relevant detection limits, hampering the method’s use outside of a laboratory environment.[3] In the present work, we addressed the shortcomings relying on interfacial and supramolecular chemistry as well as materials functionalization, transforming Schlesinger’s approach into a fluorometric ‘drop and detect’ assay using a smartphone coupled to a 3D-printed optical setup as a simple and portable device. A series of silanes were used to functionalize glass fibre paper and tune its hydrophobicity, exploiting the influence of matrix tailoring to enhance binding of the Zn salt used as co-reagent to UB for optimal fluorescence response. Combination of bis(2-hydroxyethyl)-3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane and N-octyltrimethoxysilane with ZnCl2-impregnated test strips showed the best response for sensitive (nano- and sub-nanomolar concentration) smartphone-based FIP detection. The obtained fluorescence sensing results were validated with a benchtop fluorometer. Furthermore, the developed analytical method was successfully applied to the analysis of real water samples, allowing for the first time to test for faecal water contamination directly on site in a very short time of few minutes. T2 - Anakon 2025 CY - Leipzig, Germany DA - 10.03.2025 KW - Faecal contamination KW - Fluorescence KW - Metal complexes KW - Water analysis KW - Optical and chemical sensing PY - 2025 AN - OPUS4-62795 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Schannor, Mathias T1 - LA-MC-ICPMS analysis of Cu isotopes in biological material N2 - Stable metal isotopes receive increasing attention as medical biomarkers due to their potential to detect changes of the metal metabolism related to disease. Potential mechanisms causing isotope fractionation include biological processes that involve redox- or bond-forming reactions and interaction of metals during transmembrane import and export. In order to advance our understanding of the underlying processes responsible for isotope fractionation between normal and diseased cells, we need in situ, spatially resolved methods. Despite its frequent use, laser ablation - multi-collector - inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA-MC-ICPMS) analysis of biological material is severely limited by the scarcity of matrix-matched standards. Such matrix-matched standards are necessary to correct for instrumental sources of isotope fractionation such as particle size distribution, ablation physics and differential ionization. Copper stable isotopes have proven to be a particularly powerful tool to identify differences in isotope composition between tumors and healthy tissue suggesting application in cancer diagnosis [1, 2]. To further our knowledge of Cu isotope fractionation processes induced by diseases we have developed gelatin-based bracketing standards allowing to correct instrumentally induced isotope fractionation during LA-MC-ICPMS analysis. Since gelatin properties resemble properties of protein-rich cellular material, they mimic biological matrices and their ablation behaviour. Hence, gelatin standards are spiked with known amounts of Cu stable isotopes of a known Cu isotope composition and used as matrix-matched bracketing standard. The method achieved reproducibilities of better than 0.15‰ (2SD) for inorganic reference materials and reproducibilities of better than 0.17‰ (2SD) for biological reference materials. The developed routine was tested on a liver tumor model and in situ Cu isotope compositions between healthy (δ65/63Cu = -1.5 to 0.2 ‰) and tumorous (δ65/63Cu = 0.0 to 1.3 ‰) liver tissue could be distinguished (Figure 1) [3]. T2 - EWCPS 2025 CY - Berlin, Germany DA - 02.03.2025 KW - Laser Ablation KW - Reference Material KW - Biomarker PY - 2025 AN - OPUS4-62882 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Schannor, Mathias T1 - LA-MC-ICPMS analysis of Cu isotopes in biological material N2 - Stable metal isotopes receive increasing attention as medical biomarkers due to their potential to detect changes of the metal metabolism related to disease. Potential mechanisms causing isotope fractionation include biological processes that involve redox- or bond-forming reactions and interaction of metals during transmembrane import and export. In order to advance our understanding of the underlying processes responsible for isotope fractionation between normal and diseased cells, we need in situ, spatially resolved methods. Despite its frequent use, laser ablation - multi-collector - inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA-MC-ICPMS) analysis of biological material is severely limited by the scarcity of matrix-matched standards. Such matrix-matched standards are necessary to correct for instrumental sources of isotope fractionation such as particle size distribution, ablation physics and differential ionization. Copper stable isotopes have proven to be a particularly powerful tool to identify differences in isotope composition between tumors and healthy tissue suggesting application in cancer diagnosis [1, 2]. To further our knowledge of Cu isotope fractionation processes induced by diseases we have developed gelatin-based bracketing standards allowing to correct instrumentally induced isotope fractionation during LA-MC-ICPMS analysis. Since gelatin properties resemble properties of protein-rich cellular material, they mimic biological matrices and their ablation behaviour. Hence, gelatin standards are spiked with known amounts of Cu stable isotopes of a known Cu isotope composition and used as matrix-matched bracketing standard. The method achieved reproducibilities of better than 0.15‰ (2SD) for inorganic reference materials and reproducibilities of better than 0.17‰ (2SD) for biological reference materials. The developed routine was tested on a liver tumor model and in situ Cu isotope compositions between healthy (δ65/63Cu = -1.5 to 0.2 ‰) and tumorous (δ65/63Cu = 0.0 to 1.3 ‰) liver tissue could be distinguished [3]. T2 - ANAKON 2025 CY - Leipzig, Germany DA - 10.03.2025 KW - Laser Ablation KW - Reference Material KW - Biomarker PY - 2025 AN - OPUS4-62883 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Recknagel, Sebastian T1 - Ringversuche – Werkzeug für Referenzmaterialzertifizierung und Eignungsprüfung N2 - Es wird ein Überblick gegeben über Ringversuchsaktivitäten der BAM zur Eignungsprüfung und Referenzmaterial-Charakterisierung. Anhand verschiedener Beispiele werden mögliche Probleme und deren Überwindung aufgezeigt. T2 - 150. Sitzung des Fachausschusses für Chemische Prüfung von ASMET (Austrian Siciety for Metallurgy and Materials) CY - Leoben, Austria DA - 16.10.2025 KW - Eignungsprüfung KW - Referenzmaterial KW - Ringversuch PY - 2025 AN - OPUS4-64398 LA - deu AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Andresen, Elina T1 - Lanthanide based multi element nanoparticles: a versatile platform for surface chemistry analysis and potential reference materials N2 - The use of engineered nanoparticles of different size, shape, and composition is continuously increasing in the life and materials sciences. This calls for methods and reference materials enabling the reliable and accurate determination of nanoparticle size, particle size distribution, shape, number concentration, degree of aggregation and agglomeration in different environments as well as for nanoparticle dispersibility and stability. We are currently building up and exploring a platform of lanthanide-based nanocrystals (LnNCs) with application-specifically tuned size, shape, composition, architecture, optical properties, and surface chemistry for emerging applications in life sciences. As a prerequisite for the broad applicability of these nanomaterials, we assess simple, robust, and easily upscaleable synthesis protocols for LnNCs with defined morphologies and tunable optical properties, and the short-term and long-term stability of LnNCs with selected surface coatings in aqueous environments under different application-relevant conditions. T2 - Anakon 2025 CY - Leipzig, Germany DA - 10.03.2025 KW - Nano KW - Particle KW - Method KW - Lanthanide KW - Synthesis KW - Upconversion KW - Ligand KW - Quality assurance KW - Particle number concentration KW - Reference material KW - Surface chemistry PY - 2025 AN - OPUS4-62768 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Temgoua, Ranil C. T. T1 - Hyphenated Electrochemistry Mass Spectrometry (EC MS): A Powerful Tool for Investigating the Environmental Fate of Emerging Contaminants N2 - Electrochemistry coupled to mass spectrometry (EC-MS) is emerging as a powerful and versatile technique for studying chemical transformations in various fields. This communication provides an overview of recent advances in EC-MS, focusing on its applications in drug metabolism studies, environmental degradation of xenobiotics, and green synthesis of analytical standards. EC-MS offers significant advantages over conventional methods, including in situ simulation of metabolic and environmental processes, rapid generation of transformation products, and the possibility of performing milligram-scale syntheses with a reduced environmental footprint. The major contributions of leading equipment manufacturers, such as Antec Scientific for electrochemistry and Agilent, Shimadzu, Thermo Fisher Scientific, Bruker, Waters, and Sciex for mass spectrometry, will be highlighted. Finally, a portion of our work on the ecotoxicity study of neonicotinoid pesticides, using EC-MS, will be presented to illustrate the potential of this technique. Our study investigates the formation of degradation products from electrochemical reactors (EC) for neonicotinoid insecticides and phenylurea herbicides. T2 - 29th meeting of the RCJSM (Youth Club of the French Society of Mass Spectrometry CY - Toulouse, France DA - 31.03.2025 KW - Material safety KW - Quality ensurance KW - Chemical safety PY - 2025 AN - OPUS4-63530 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Avci, Fatma T1 - Referenzanalytik und Herstellung geeigneter Referenzmaterialien für die quantitative Elementanalyse von Batterierohstoffen N2 - Das vom BMFTR geförderte Vorhaben X@Line hat das Ziel, eine at-line-fähige Elementanalytik von Schwarzmassen mittels eines neuartigen Röntgenfluoreszenzverfahrens zu etablieren. Im Rahmen des Teilvorhabens "Referenzanalytik und Herstellung geeigneter Referenzmaterialien für die quantitative Elementanalyse von Batterierohstoffen" ist die BAM für die Auswahl und Herstellung geeigneter Referenzmaterialien zuständig und damit auch für die Referenzanalytik unter Verwendung von Methoden wie die optische Emissionsspektroskopie mit induktiv gekoppeltem Plasma (ICP-OES). Erste Untersuchungen der Schwarzmassen des Projektpartners Redux zeigen die Notwendigkeit, die verschiedenen Klassen an Schwarzmassen gesondert zu behandeln. Die Klassen unterscheiden sich je nach im Recycling eingesetztem Batterie-Typ. Die Batterie-Typen basieren auf ihren jeweiligen Kathodenmaterialien. Die Referenzmaterialien müssen demnach den Klassen entsprechend hergestellt werden. Des Weiteren müssen die Klassen auch bei der Entwicklung von Kalibriermodellen für die Röntgenfluoreszenzanalyse (RFA) berücksichtigt werden. Diese Notwendigkeiten ergeben sich aus der Matrixabhängigkeit der Röntgenfluoreszenzspektroskopie. Erste Klassifizierungsversuche wurden mit der Partial Least Squares Discriminant Analysis (PLS-DA) vorgenommen. Die PLS-DA kann die einzelnen Klassen anhand der semiquantitativen Ergebnisse der RFA clustern und für die entsprechenden Proben die jeweilige Klasse vorhersagen. T2 - Projekttreffen - X@Line CY - Hamburg, Germany DA - 24.09.2025 KW - Black Mass KW - Schwarzmasse KW - Referenzanalytik KW - Elementanalytik PY - 2025 AN - OPUS4-64897 LA - deu AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - da Rocha, Morgana A1 - Chaves, Eduardo T1 - Assessment of Pd Nanoparticles as Chemical Modifiers and Preconcentration Agents for Cd Determination in River Water by HR-CS GFAAS N2 - Cadmium is a heavy metal that can be hazardous to environmental and human health, even in trace levels.[1] In this way, the extraction and/or preconcentration of this element from environmental samples, such as river water, is important to obtain information about the composition and monitoring of potential contamination.[2] High-resolution continuum source graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry (HR-CS GFAAS) is widely used for Cd determination. However, the determination of this element at trace-level can be challenging, especially in complex matrices. Thus, nanoparticles (NPs) can be used as an alternative for the extraction and preconcentration of Cd in environmental samples, minimizing the potential interferences and improving the method´s limit of detection (LOD). Considering that Pd is also widely used as a “universal” chemical modifier, this project aims todevelop PdNPs capped with 3-mercaptopropionic acid (MPA) to assess its potential as a chemical modifier and preconcentration agent for Cd determination by HR-CS GF AAS in river water. In this way, the synthesis of PdNPs was performed in an aqueous medium by using ascorbic acid as a reducing agent. The characterization of PdNPs was performed by checking the size via dynamic light scattering (DLS), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometer in single particle mode (spICP-MS), where the median size was 56 ± 14 nm. The temperature program of HR-CS GFAAS was optimized for river water under three conditions: using Pd(NO3)2/Mg2+ (0.01%/0.5% m/v) as a chemical modifier (condition A), using Pd NPs as a chemical modifier (condition B), and without chemical modifiers (condition C). The pyrolysis and atomization temperatures for condition A were 900 and 1900 ºC, for condition B were 700 ºC and 1900 ºC, and for condition C were 500 and 1900ºC, respectively. Besides the temperature of pyrolysis for the universal chemical modifier being higher than that of PdNPs, using the PdNPs, the absorbance is significantly greater, according to the t-test for pairs, at a 95% confidence level. In addition, the evaluation of the preconcentration property of the PdNP was performed by adding 1 µg L-1 of Cd2+ in buffer pH 4 in two systems: one with and the other without PdNPs. After 1 h of stirring, both systems were centrifuged at 3600 rpm for 10 min, and the absorbance in HR-CS GFAAS for Cd in both supernatants was evaluated. According to ANOVA from the t-test, at a 95% confidence level, there was a significant difference in the absorbance, indicating that Cd is interacting with the PdNPs. A multifactorial planning 2k, where k is the number of parameters of the extraction, which was time of extraction (10; 35; 60 min), Volume of Pd NPs (100; 300; 500 µL), pH (3; 5; 7), was used to evaluate the parameters with significant influence in the preconcentration of Cd2+. According to ANOVA, with 95% confidence, there is no lack of fit, and the parameters volume of PdNP and pH significantly influenced the response. In this way, the Doehlert methodology surface will be applied to both significant parameters. The goal is to achieve optimal conditions that increase the extraction efficiency of Cd2+ from environmental samples. The results indicate that the developed material is promising to use as a chemical modifier and for the preconcentration of Cd2+ in environmental samples. T2 - 17th Rio Symposium on Atomic Spectrometry (RSAS 2025) CY - Sao Pedro, Brazil DA - 12.11.2025 KW - Pd Nanoparticles KW - HR-CS GFAAS KW - Cadmium Ion Sensing KW - Particle Characterization KW - Particle Surface PY - 2025 AN - OPUS4-64997 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - You, Yi T1 - MicroPhase: An Open-Source Flexible Ultrasonic Phased Array Based on Microcontrollers N2 - The use of resonant acoustic fields has gained significant attention due to their capability for contactless manipulation of objects in the open air and other media, referred to as ultrasonic levitation. To overcome the limitations in air-coupling efficiency, Langevin-type ultrasonic transducers are often employed, as they can operate at relatively high power, ranging from several tens to thousands of watts. However, such platforms typically lack the ability to move acoustically trapped objects efficiently, often requiring additional mechanical structures for even basic motion control, such as translation. In contrast, ultrasonic phased arrays offer clear advantages by leveraging their inherent beam-forming capabilities, which allows for dynamic shaping of acoustic fields in situ. Unfortunately, phased array control systems are not readily accessible, particularly when specific geometric or performance criteria must be met. Most commercially available phased array controllers are designed to operate in the MHz range; those are suitable only for high acoustic impedance media, such as water. Conversely, platforms for open-air applications typically utilize ultrasonic speakers operating at 40 kHz. In both cases, these systems are built on field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs). However, interfacing FPGAs with computers and developing FPGA firmware (e.g., in VHDL) can be technically demanding, and analog components such as power amplifiers further complicate the system design. These limitations severely restrained the use of flexible ultrasonic levitations in analytical chemistry. Here, we present a novel platform for controlling ultrasonic phased arrays using single modern microcontrollers. This platform leverages the connectivity features of microcontrollers, allowing straightforward interfacing with computers via common programming languages (e.g., Python). The system employs fast direct memory access (DMA) to control up-to 256 ultrasonic transducers with a resolution of 0.5 µs, which is suitable for air-based applications in the 20-50 kHz range. Additionally, the platform can interface with traditional Langevin-type transducers, enabling their conversion into phased arrays. Optical characterization of acoustic field optimization is also discussed. T2 - ANAKON 2025 CY - Leipzig, Germany DA - 10.03.2025 KW - Acoustic ion manipulation PY - 2025 AN - OPUS4-64112 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Recknagel, Sebastian T1 - Production of reference materials - not only for batteries N2 - The presentation describes the basic procedure used by BAM to produce certified reference materials. In particular, BAM's reference material activities in the field of lithium batteries are discussed. Following the first NMC 111 reference material, which is already commercially available, further materials are in production, including black masses and lithium carbonate. T2 - Rigaku Battery Forum 2025 CY - Neu-Isenburg, Germany DA - 24.06.2025 KW - Reference material KW - Li-battery KW - Cathode material PY - 2025 AN - OPUS4-64374 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 - Scholtz, Lena T1 - Luminescent, Semiconductor Nanoparticle-Loadedpolymer Microbeads–Comparingparticlearchitectures N2 - Luminescent polymer microparticles (PMPs) are applied in various (bio)analytical and diagnostic processes.[1] The staining of these beads is important for the realization of optically distinguishable barcodes that can be read out, e.g., by a flow cytometer or fluorescence microscope. Typically, luminescent semiconductor nanoparticles (NPs) absorb in a broad wavelength range and show narrow emission bands, which enables simultaneous excitation of differently colored luminophores and facilitates a spectral discrimination.[1] This makes them ideal candidates for this purpose and encouraged us to explore and develop a simple, effective approach to luminescent semiconductor NP encoding of polystyrene PMPs and identify suitable synthesis conditions.[2] Until now, mainly semiconductor quantum dots (QDs) have been used for the synthesis of luminescent PMPs, although NPs with different shapes could introduce beneficial new features. Aiming for the application of our developed procedure to non-spherical NPs, we systematically investigated the luminescence properties of the resulting NP-stained beads using fluorescence and integrating sphere spectroscopy as well as fluorescence and electron microscopy. These studies showed that the suitability of semiconductor NPs for the synthesis of luminescent PMPs depends not only on their shape, but also heavily on their surface chemistry.[3] The successful incorporation of nonspherical NPs opens the path to include even more NPs, and the results can help to deduce future applications for the beads which best suit their specific properties. T2 - E-MRS Fall Meeting 2025 CY - Warsaw, Poland DA - 15.09.2025 KW - Quality assurance KW - Fluorescence KW - Nano KW - Particle KW - Synthesis KW - Quantum dot KW - Quantum rod KW - Platelet KW - Quantum yield KW - Polymer particle KW - Encoding KW - Surface chemistry KW - Mechanism KW - Characterization KW - Lifetime KW - Barcode KW - Polymerization KW - Method PY - 2025 AN - OPUS4-64242 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Wegner, Karl David T1 - Ag₂S nanocrystals as next-generation, heavy-metal free SWIR emitter for biomedical imaging and sensing applications N2 - There is a growing interest in the exploitation of the short-wave infrared (SWIR), which refers to the wavelength band of light between 900 nm and 2500 nm. Luminophores that emit in the SWIR are used in various areas of telecommunications, photovoltaics, security systems (night vision), and in biomedicine. In particular for biomedical applications, the SWIR range is highly promising because light scattering, absorption, and autofluorescence of tissue and biological compounds are strongly reduced compared to the visible (400–700 nm) and NIR (~700–900 nm). The benefits of SWIR-emissive QDs have been demonstrated for a variety of applications, such as in thermal sensing, as photoelectrochemical biosensor, in in vivo vascular imaging, and for fluorescence-guided surgery. Full exploitation of SWIR photoluminescence (PL) imaging and sensing is currently hampered by i.) a lack of suitable advanced nanomaterials with a high PL quantum yield (PL QY) and a high brightness, that can be used safely in vivo and ii.) a lack of quantitative and reliable data on the optical properties of many SWIR emitters. Promising nanomaterials for the SWIR are heavy metal-free Ag2S quantum dots (QDs). Aiming for the development of SWIR advanced nanomaterials with optimum performance, we have dived deeper into the photophysical processes occurring in these nanomaterials, thereby exploring in depth how the environment such as temperature, surface ligand composition, and the incorporation of transition metals influence the optical properties Ag2S QDs. We observed a strong enhancement of the SWIR emission of upon addition of metal ions such as Zn2+, yielding PL quantum yields of about 10% and thus making them highly suitable for non-invasive deep imaging of vascular networks and 3D fluid flow mapping. T2 - Shining a light on biomedical and energy applications (Shift) CY - Tenerife, Spain DA - 13.10.2025 KW - Quantum dots KW - Short-wave infrared KW - SWIR KW - Spectroscopy KW - Photoluminescence KW - Quantum yield PY - 2025 AN - OPUS4-64673 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Scholl, Juliane T1 - Forever Chemicals of Tomorrow? Fate of Fluorinated Li-Ion Battery Additives N2 - Fluorinated organic compounds (FOCs) are a category of anthropogenic chemicals distinguished by their resilient carbon-fluorine bonds, which confer significant chemical stability and resistance to degradation. This durability makes them valuable in various applications, particularly in lithium-ion batteries (LiBs) [1,2]. However, the environmental implications of these compounds have not been thoroughly investigated. This study focuses on the environmental impact of two fluorinated aromatic compounds: tris(pentafluorophenyl)borane (TPFPB) and tris(pentafluorophenyl)phosphine (TPFPP), specifically regarding their roles in enhancing LiB performance [3,4]. To assess their environmental fate, we employed a range of laboratory simulation techniques generating transformation products (TPs), including total oxidizable precursor assays, electrochemistry (EC), Fenton reactions, UV-C irradiation, and hydrolysis. We utilized liquid chromatography and gas chromatography coupled with high-resolution mass spectrometry to identify TPs and predict their molecular formulas. Despite their structural similarities, TPFPB and TPFPP displayed differences in electrochemical behavior and degradation pathways. TPFPB underwent significant transformation through hydroxylation and hydrolysis, yielding a diverse array of 49 TPs, including 28 newly identified compounds, including oligomers and minor levels of highly toxic dioxins. In contrast, TPFPP underwent degradation only at extreme conditions, highlighting the necessity for new conditioning protocols in electrochemistry. Overall, our simulation experiments revealed 9 structurally unique compounds, including 7 previously unidentified partially defluorinated byproducts. This study underscores the potential environmental hazards associated with the use of FOCs in lithium-ion batteries and enhances our understanding of the complex interactions these compounds have with the environment. T2 - ANAKON 2025 CY - Leipzig, Germany DA - 10.03.2025 KW - High Resolution Mass Spectrometry (HRMS) KW - Lithium-Ion Batteries KW - Simulation methods KW - PFAS KW - Electrochemistry KW - Photochemistry KW - TOP assay PY - 2025 AN - OPUS4-62805 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - You, Yi T1 - Acoustic Ion Manipulation (AIM) N2 - The precise control of gaseous ions is a cornerstone in ion-based spectrometry and other disciplines such as materials processing. Traditional high-pressure ion optics rely on electrostatic and magnetic fields that often demand the use of intense electric fields, radio frequency activation, complex geometrical arrangements, or partially transmissive grids. Consequently, the efficiencies of such devices tend to be low or they require large footprints, as ion motions under ambient conditions are governed aerodynamically by collisions and fluid dynamics. However, from a different perspective and holistic reasoning, the limitations posed by collisions, aerodynamics, and other factors that hinder ion control in the open-air suggested an innovative direction for ion manipulation. Our study introduces a novel method that employs low-power standing acoustic waves to effectively manipulate ion beams. We observe that ions distinctively prefer traveling through areas of static pressure within the acoustic field, identified as "nodes." In contrast, neutral gases are unaffected by the acoustic field structure and continue to move along a straight trajectory. We have named this method Acoustic Ion Manipulation (AIM). Initial studies demonstrated selective and efficient manipulations of ion with AIM, including gating, redirection, regional dispersion, and focusing. This technique broadens the scope of ion manipulation strategies at high pressures while enriching our fundamental understanding of ion-acoustic kinetics. The potential applications of this method are vast, promising significant advancements in the fields of analytical chemistry, environmental science, and beyond. T2 - ANAKON 2025 CY - Leipzig, Germany DA - 10.03.2025 KW - Acoustic ion manipulation KW - Mass spectrometry PY - 2025 AN - OPUS4-64110 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Riedel, Jens T1 - Acoustic Ion Manipulation: Electric-field-free Approach to Gate, Focus, and Separate Ions at Atmospheric Pressure N2 - Approaches to control the motion and direction of ionized particles and mole-cules are an essential aspect of ion-based spectrometries, such as mass spec-trometry (MS) and ion mobility spectrometry (IMS). A wide variety of ion optics exist to reflect, focus, separate, gate, and filter ions based on physical proper-ties. Notably all rely on electric and magnetic fields to alter the trajectory of ionized atoms and molecules. While these optics are quite efficient at low pressures due to the large mean free path, diffusion and electrostatic repulsion between ions dominate at higher pressures. Conventional ion optics, that use electric or magnetic fields, can guide ions at atmospheric pressure (AP), but require high field strengths to overcome the dominating aerodynamic effects. Here, we describe a remarkable phenomenon whereby low-power acoustic fields are used to move, shape, gate, and separate beams of gaseous ions at atmospheric pressure. We refer to this approach as Acoustic Ion Manipulation (AIM). Gaseous ions at AP are directed towards and separated by the presence of the acoustic field. To better understand the phenomenon, an ion-detector array provided a measure of bulk ion movement, while mass spectrometry (MS) offered chemical-specific information. As one example of an AIM setup, a standing acoustic wave was formed with two ultrasonic speakers and placed between an ionization source and ion detector. Ion beams preferentially travel through regions of stable pressure gradients (i.e. nodes) and deflect from un-stable regions (i.e. antinodes). Shadowgraphy revealed that the ions are sepa-rated from a neutral gas stream. Specific examples of ion focusing, gating, and separation (based on ion size) will be shown. In addition, experimental findings will be used to postulate a theory to develop a better understand of the behav-ior of gas-phase ions in acoustic fields. This discovery could have profound im-pacts in IMS/MS instrumentation as well as materials processing and charac-terization. T2 - 56. Jahrestagung der DGMS CY - Göttingen, Germany DA - 04.03.2025 KW - Acoustic Ion Manipulation KW - Mass spectrometry KW - Ultrasound PY - 2025 AN - OPUS4-64208 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Tavernaro, Isabella T1 - Quantifying the Total and Accessible Number of Surface Functional Groups and Ligands on Engineered Nanomaterials Using a Multimodal Approach N2 - Functionalized nanomaterials (NM) with their unique size-dependent properties are of increasing relevance for current and future developments in various fields such as medical and pharmaceutical industry, computing, electronics or food and consumer products. For instance, NMs are used as drug carriers, fluorescent sensors, and multimodal labels in bio-analytical assays and imaging applications. The performance and safety of NMs are influenced by their intrinsic physicochemical properties. Among these, the surface chemistry of the particles, which is largely determined by the chemical nature and density of functional groups and ligands, plays a crucial role in enhancing the stability, and processability of NMs, as well as their interactions with the environment. Thus, particle standards with well-designed surfaces and methods for functional group quantification can foster the sustainable development of functional and safe(r) NM.[1] To develop simple, versatile, and multimodal tools for quantifying various bioanalytically relevant functional groups (FG) such as amine,[2,3] carboxy,[2] thiol, and aldehyde[4] functionalities, we explored and compared several analytical methods. These methods included electrochemical titration, dye-based optical assays, and other instrumental techniques like nuclear magnetic resonance, mass spectrometry, and thermal analysis. Our multimodal approach’s potential for FG quantification was demonstrated using both commercial and custom-made polymeric and silica particles with different densities of functional groups. T2 - ANAKON 2025 CY - Leipzig, Germany DA - 10.03.2025 KW - Quality Assurance KW - Nano Particle KW - qNMR KW - Potentiometry KW - Reference Material KW - Surface Analysis KW - Advance Materials KW - Functional Group KW - Silica KW - Synthesis KW - Optical Assays KW - Reference Data PY - 2025 AN - OPUS4-65000 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Resch-Genger, Ute T1 - The SMURFnano project - standardized measurements of surface functionalities on nanoparticles N2 - Engineered nanoparticles (NPs) with various chemical compositions and surface functionalities are routinely fabricated for industrial applications such as medical diagnostics, drug delivery, sensing, catalysis, energy conversion and storage, optoelectronics, and information storage. NP function, interaction with biological species, and environmental fate are largely determined by surface functionalities. Reliable, reproducible, and standardized surface characterization methods are therefore vital for quality control of NPs, and mandatory to meet increasing concerns regarding their safety. Also, industry, international standardization organizations, regulatory agencies, and policymakers need validated and standardized measurement methods and reference materials. However, methodologies for determining NP surface properties, including the amount, chemical composition, and homogeneity of surface functionalities and coatings are largely non-standardized. Suitable methods for determining surface functionalities on ligand-stabilized core and core/shell NPs include advanced techniques such as traceable quantitative nuclear magnetic resonance (qNMR) as well as X-ray electron spectroscopy (XPS) and time of flight secondary ion mass spectrometry (ToF-SIMS), and simpler optical and electrochemical methods. The latter less costly methods are often used by SMEs, e.g., for quality control. To validate methods, establish measurement uncertainties, test reference materials, and produce reference data, international interlaboratory comparisons (ILC) on NP surface functionalization measurements are required and well characterized test and reference nanomaterials providing benchmark values.[1] These needs are addressed by the recently started European metrology project SMURFnano involving 12 partners from different National Metrology Institutes, designated institutes, and research institutes, two university groups as well as one large company and one SME producing NPs. This project as well as first results derived from the development of test and reference materials with a well characterized surface chemistry and ongoing interlaboratory comparisons will be presented. T2 - eMRS CY - Strasbourg, France DA - 27.05.2025 KW - Quality assurance KW - Reference analysis KW - Standardization KW - Metrology KW - Reference products KW - Reference materials KW - Mission KW - Surface chemistry KW - Nano KW - Particle KW - qNMR KW - XPS KW - Fluorescence KW - Optical assays KW - Interlaboratory comparison KW - Uncertainty PY - 2025 AN - OPUS4-63243 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Tavernaro, Isabella A1 - Abram, Sarah-Luise A1 - Homann, Christian A1 - Scholtz, Lena A1 - Radnik, Jörg A1 - Resch-Genger, Ute T1 - Validated and standardized measurements and quantification of surface functionalities on nanoparticles N2 - Surface-functionalized organic and inorganic engineered nanomaterials (NMs) are widely applied in the life and materials sciences. NM performance depends on key factors such as particle size and shape, crystal phase, morphology, chemical composition, and surface chemistry, i.e., surface coatings, functional groups (FGs), and ligands.1 The latter controls their processability and interaction with the environment and largely their possible toxicity. Thus, methods for FG quantification are important tools for quality control of NM production processes and can foster the sustainable development of functional and safe(r) NMs. This underlines the importance of validated and standardized analytical methods for surface analysis and reference materials.2 This encouraged us to explore simple and versatile tools for quantifying common bioanalytically relevant FGs such as optical assays, electrochemical titration methods, quantitative nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (qNMR), and X-Ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and to perform a first interlaboratory comparison (ILC) on surface FG quantification.3,4 In a follow-up ILC, BAM and NRC explored qNMR sample preparation, measurement, and data evaluation protocols for commercial and custom-made aminated SiO2 NPs with sizes of 20-100 nm, different amounts of surface amino FGs, and different porosity.5,6 First, the number of amino FGs accessible for a dye reporter was determined with a cost-efficient, automated optical fluorescamine assay. Then, qNMR workflows and protocols were stepwise fine-tuned. The qNMR ILC was complemented by joint XPS measurements. BAM also examined the applicability of fast and automatable potentiometric titrations to screen the total amount of (de)protonable FGs on aminated SiO2 NPs. Our results underline the need to evaluate protocols for FG quantification in ILCs and the advantages of multi-method characterization strategies for efficient method cross validation. T2 - Surface and Micro/Nano Analysis Working Group CY - Paris, France DA - 08.04.2025 KW - Quality assurance KW - Reference material KW - Fluorescence KW - Nano KW - Particle KW - Surface analysis KW - XPS KW - Traceability KW - Metrology KW - Calibration KW - Reference data KW - Reference product KW - Digital certificate KW - QNMR KW - Potentiometry PY - 2025 AN - OPUS4-62969 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Portesi, C. T1 - qNMR for standardised measurements of surface functionalities on nanoparticles N2 - Engineered nanoparticles have a large application potential in fields such as medicine, sensing, catalysis, energy storage, and opto-electronics [1]. The applicability and performance of engineered nanoparticles is largely determined by their surface chemistry, i.e. functional groups and ligands on the particle surface. However, documented standards to quantify functional groups and ligands currently do not exist. Such standards are required to support quality control of nanomaterial production and surface modification processes, and safe-by-design concepts and to meet regulatory requirements. Here, this issue is addressed by developing and standardizing quantitative Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (qNMR) methods for the characterization of surface functionalized nanoparticles which specifically address the determination of the amount and chemical composition of surface functionalities and coatings. This work is being developed under the EMP project 23NRM02 SMURFnano - Standardised measurements of surface functionalities on nanoparticles. qNMR competence of 7 qNMR laboratories involved in the project was first tested with a molecular model sample i.e. citrate, to be assessed in terms of purity. Citrate is often used as hydrophilic surface ligand for different nanoparticles. Then, the first nanoparticle samples, here a set of aminated SiO2 NPs [1] with a particle size of 100 nm and two amino group densities, prepared and characterized by BAM regarding size and surface charge as well as stability over 21 months with an optical assay and qNMR, were assessed in an international interlaboratory comparison (ILC) on qNMR. Thereby, the amount of surface amino groups introduced by grafting of the silica cores with different amounts of 3-aminopropyl)triethoxysilane (APTES) was quantified by each participant following a sample preparation protocol previously developed by BAM and NRC.The results of the ILC were then used to refine the protocol for sample preparation and to identify critical points for qNMR measurement and data analysis. This work will contribute to the development of a Preliminary Work Item (PWI) 19257 (ISO/TC 229) on surface functional groups and coatings on nano-objects. Also, it will lay the groundwork to perform ILCs on the quantification and determination of the amount of surface functional groups under the roof of VAMAS TWA2 (Surface Chemical Analysis) for different types of nanomaterials possessing industry-relevant surface functionalities using qNMR. These ILCs will be complemented by other techniques like X-Ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry (ToF-SIMS). T2 - BERM CY - Halifax, Canada DA - 01.06.2025 KW - Quality assurance KW - Nano KW - Particle KW - Synthesis KW - Advanced materials KW - Characterization KW - Electron microscopy KW - Silica KW - Surface KW - qNMR KW - Optical assay KW - Interlaboratory comparison KW - Metrology KW - Validation KW - Standardization PY - 2025 AN - OPUS4-63443 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Paul, Martin T1 - Real time multichannel biomarker detection using photonic integrated circuits on ultra compact CMOS chips N2 - This work presents the real-time, multichannel detection of the biomolecule Neutravidine using photonic integrated circuits on ultra-compact monolithic CMOS chips. The development focuses on implementing bioassays directly on CMOS platforms, enabling highly integrated and scalable biosensing. The presentation will cover key aspects including microfluidic integration, data analysis, surface functionalization, and chip packaging. T2 - World Biosensor Congress CY - Lisbon, Portugal DA - 18.05.2025 KW - Chips KW - Photonics KW - Biosensor KW - Realtime PY - 2025 AN - OPUS4-63777 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Weller, Michael G. T1 - One-bead-one-peptide libraries, their application, and other topics N2 - A novel method for screening one-bead-one-peptide libraries is presented and discussed. The approach comprises the following steps: 1. The peptide library is synthesized on peptide beads with a 4-(hydroxymethyl)benzoic acid (HMBA) linker. 2. The beads are placed on glass slides equipped with electrically conductive double-sided adhesive tape using a precision sieve. 3. The chip is incubated with fluorescence-labeled target molecules (e.g., antibodies or receptors) and scanned with a fluorescence scanner to identify the positive beads. 4. The peptides are cleaved from the polymer beads using ammonia gas. 5. The MALDI matrix is applied using a spray gun. 6. The positive beads are sequenced using MALDI-ToF-MS. T2 - Berlin-Delhi Network Symposium CY - Berlin, Germany DA - 31.10.2025 KW - Peptide KW - Aptamer KW - Bibliothek PY - 2025 AN - OPUS4-64562 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Tannenberg, Robert T1 - Multichannel real-time detection of biomarkers with highly miniaturized photonic microchips N2 - The development of novel photonic microchips is a promising approach to advance the detection of biomarkers through multichannel real-time analysis. This study reports the successful development of a backside released CMOS chip designed for the multichannel real-time detection of biomarkers. Operating at a wavelength of 1550 nm, the microchip features three detection channels in addition to a reference channel, enabling simultaneous analysis of multiple biomarkers. The microchip incorporates micro-ring resonators that are directly functionalized with specific bioreceptors, which significantly improves the affinity towards target biomarkers. The employed surface functionalization strategy enables versatile immobilization of receptor molecules and serves as a starting point for various analytical applications. A tunable laser is utilized as the excitation source, providing precise wavelength tuning and stable optical output, essential for achieving optimal resonance conditions within the micro-ring resonators. Our chips use integrated multi-mode interferometers as beam-splitter, grating coupler and Ge-photodiodes, resulting in an ultra-small footprint. The complete chip including metal pads has an area of 1 mm2. The results indicate that the developed multichannel photonic microchip system enables online detection of multiple biomarkers. The compact and highly miniaturized design of this microchip positions them as promising candidates for point-of-care diagnostics and personalized medicine applications. With further advancements, this technology opens a path to transform biomarker detection across various medical fields, offering rapid, reliable, and cost-effective diagnostic solutions. In conclusion, the presented multichannel photonic microchips signify a substantial leap forward in real-time biomarker detection, providing a robust platform for future research and clinical applications. T2 - SPIE Optics + Optoelectronics 2025 CY - Prague, Czech Republic DA - 07.04.2025 KW - Biosensor KW - Optics KW - Silicon semiconductor KW - Proteins KW - Clinical chemistry PY - 2025 AN - OPUS4-62954 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Engelhard, Carsten T1 - Advances in Analytical Chemistry and Mass Spectrometry to Support a Sustainable and Circular Economy N2 - Recent advances in analytical chemistry have significantly supported efforts to realize a sustainable circular economy and circular chemistry. By enabling rapid materials analysis and characterization of materials transformation throughout their life cycle, analytical methods are playing a key role in supporting waste reduction, resource recovery, pollution monitoring, and sustainable manufacturing. In this presentation, recent developments in analytical chemistry and analytical instrumentation to support a sustainable and circular economy will be reviewed and selected contributions from our laboratories will be discussed. For example, high-resolution mass spectrometry combined with chromatography is an indispensable tool for the identification and characterization of plastics. To support the transition from linear to circular chemistry, whichs prioritizes reuse, recycling, and resource efficiency, accurate and detailed chemical information about plastic materials is essential. Here, targeted and non-targeted screening approaches help to characterize, for example, the quality and safety of recycled plastics. In addition, green analytical chemistry has emerged as a topic of interest, emphasizing the use of solvent-free and low-energy methods to minimized environmental impact during analysis. Here, ambient desorption/ionization high-resoluton mass spectrometry (ADI-MS) is considered a very attractive tool because it dos not require chromatography or large amounts of solvent, reduces sample preparation time, and produces virtually no chemical waste. Here, a solvent-free, plasma-based ADI-MS method is presented, which was carefuly developed for the direct identification and fast screening of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). PFAS are a large class of thousands of synthetic chemicals that are used worldwide. However, growing environmental and human health concerns in the last two decades have led to more stringent regulatory requirements and the development of quantitative analytical methods for PFAS detection. Today, standardized and powerful methods exist, e.g., for the determination PFAS in water, sludge, compost, soil, and drinking water. While liquid chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) is often used, sample preparation, solvent consumption, and total analysis times can be challenging. Here, ADI-MS is considered interesting, because it requires only minimal sample preparation and little solvent consumption. In this work, a plasma-based pin-to-capillary flowing atmospheric-pressure afterglow source (FAPA) is used for the direct desorption/ionization of PFAS from thin-layer chromatography (TLC) plates. Selected PFAS samples were directly probed on functionalized TLC surfaces without a preceding planar chromatography step. In addition, direct analysis of PFAS mixtures and selected matrices was performed with little solvent consumption, no sample preparation and short analysis time. T2 - XXII European Conference on Analytical Chemistry (EUROANALYSIS) CY - Barcelona, Spain DA - 31.08.2025 KW - Mass Spectrometry KW - Extractables & Leachables KW - Non-Targeted Analysis KW - PFAS KW - FAPA-MS PY - 2025 AN - OPUS4-65275 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Gornushkin, Igor B. T1 - Plasma Fundamentals and Diagnostics N2 - This course will provide an introduction to plasma diagnostic techniques. The major focus of the course will be on the discussions of the practical procedures as well as the underlying physical principles for the measurements of plasma fundamental characteristics (e.g., temperatures, thermodynamic properties, and electron number density). Particular emphasis will be placed on inductively coupled plasma–atomic emission spectrometry, but other analytical plasmas will also be used as examples when appropriate. Selected examples on how one can manipulate the operating conditions of the plasma source, based on the results of plasma diagnostic measurements, to improve its performance used for spectrochemical analysis will also be covered. Topics to be covered include thermal equilibrium, line profiles, temperatures, electron densities, excitation processes, micro reactions, pump and probe diagnostics, tomography, temporal and spatial resolution. Basis of plasma computer modeling will be presented. T2 - 2024 Winter Conference on Plasma Spectrochemistry CY - Tucson, Arizona, USA DA - 15.01.2024 KW - Plasma KW - Plasma fundamentals KW - Plasma diagnostics PY - 2024 AN - OPUS4-59430 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Döring, Sarah T1 - Optimization of surface-functionalized particles for improved antibody digestion N2 - Therapeutic monoclonal antibodies are the fastest-growing group of biological agents which generated a yearly turnover of USD 210 billion in 2022 and whose sales are expected to grow by 10% annually over the next 10 years. With steadily increasing market importance, analytical methods for reliable quantification of therapeutic antibodies also become more and more relevant. Liquid chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometry (LC–MS/MS) has become the main technology for antibody quantification. This approach, however, requires enzymatic digestion of the intact protein into peptides, for which a wide range of different protocols exists that often lead to different results depending on the digestion procedure or trypsin variants used. In particular, the amount and type of detergents added for protein unfolding prior to digestion is known to create significant bias in measurement results. The overall goal of the presented project is the application of novel thermostable and surface-functionalized trypsin particles for improved antibody digestion. Specifically, a trypsin-variant described in the literature exhibiting increased activity and thermal stability above 80°C, will be examined. The application of this enzyme should allow to perform digestion at elevated temperatures where the protein is naturally unfolding thereby increasing enzyme accessibility without the need for detergents. Furthermore, we will immobilize the thermostable trypsin onto the surface to further enhance enzyme stability, prevent self-digestion, and enable separation of trypsin from target peptides before LC–MS/MS analysis. As an immobilization platform, cheap and non-porous corundum particles will be used as these show high chemical stability and low levels of interaction of matrix proteins with the functionalized surface. adsorption. In a multidisciplinary collaboration with the SALSA Photonics Lab, we will investigate the characteristics of covalent enzyme binding and unspecific peptide binding using an interface-sensitive analytical tool, vibrational sum-frequency generation (VSFG) spectroscopy. The insights gained will not only lead to new competencies in peptide and enzyme surface analysis using VSFG spectroscopy in SALSA but will also significantly contribute to optimizing antibody quantification. T2 - SALSA STF24 Kick-Off Meeting CY - Berlin, Germany DA - 11.04.2024 KW - Antibody Quantification KW - Vibrational Sum-Frequency Generation Spectroscopy KW - LC-MS/MS KW - Enzyme Immobilisation KW - Corundum PY - 2024 AN - OPUS4-59864 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Wittwer, Philipp T1 - Results of ILC Data Treatment N2 - Results of the interlaboratory comparison study for data treatment were presented. They show, that nearly all participants found all the problems in the data. However, only a few corrected the problems, therefore making it one possible point to focus on in the knowledge sharing program. T2 - AGM POLMO Meeting 2024 CY - Paris, France DA - 21.05.2024 KW - JNP POLMO KW - ILC KW - Ringversuch PY - 2024 AN - OPUS4-60166 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Portesi, Chiara T1 - Metrology for food safety in the circular economy: targeted and screening methods for contaminants in food and recycled packaging N2 - Safeguarding consumers from potential harm caused by food contamination is of paramount importance to ensure food safety. The focus on safety is a central priority for European Commision lawmakers. Furthermore, as outlined in the EU circular economy action plan, the development of a sustainable food system is a critical objective. However, progress towards these goals can sometimes face obstacles, including the risk of eroding consumer confidence in food quality. Factors such as the increased use of recycled and sustainable packaging materials and the growing awareness of emerging contaminants necessitate immediate attention. To ensure a high level of food safety throughout production and distribution, it is crucial to improve and harmonise analytical techniques for contaminant quantification. This constitutes the basis for reliable data and compliance with regulations and for resolving disputes and minimising financial losses within the food industry. The ScreenFood project (June 2024 -May 2027) is funded by the European Metrology Partnership and aims to develop reference methods and reference materials for quantifying contaminants in both food and food packaging, with a specific emphasis on recycled materials. These metrological tools will aid industries and official food control in guaranteeing the delivery of safe food and sustainable packaging while adhering to regulatory requirements. Specific objectives of the project are i. To improve protocols for the quantification of the mineral oil aromatic hydrocarbons (MOAH) fraction and for the quantification of the fraction consisting of substances with three or more aromatic ring systems (3+MOAH); ii. To develop sensitive analytical procedures for detecting and quantifying per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in selected matrices, in line with EU requirements; iii. To develop traceable and highly accurate reference materials for quality control and quality assurance purposes; iv. to develop screening methods addressing new/existing organic and inorganic contaminants, in virgin and recycled packaging, such as PET, and bio-based and reusable materials; v. To investigate the migration of contaminants from packaging into food simulants, as well as to foster the research in the discovery of Emerging and Novel PFAS through non-targeted screening. The consortium brings together 28 partners from EU metrological institutes, research centres, control laboratories, EU reference laboratories and industries. A large panel of collaborators and stakeholders is supporting the consortium in keeping the project aligned with EU and industrial priorities.  T2 - 11th International Symposium on RECENT ADVANCES IN FOOD ANALYSIS (RAFA) CY - Prague, Czech Republic DA - 05.11.2024 KW - Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) KW - MOSH/MOAH KW - EU Project KW - Food KW - Food Contact Material (FCM) KW - ScreenFood PY - 2024 AN - OPUS4-62185 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Zöllner, Moritz T1 - Thermal decomposition of dolomite: Raman spectroscopy as a thermometric tool for the analysis of carbonates in mortar binders. N2 - The reconstruction of the thermal history of minerals is an on-going challenge in the study of anthropogenic materials, e.g., ceramics and mortar binders. For millennia carbonate rocks have been used as the starting material, though the exact manufacturing procedures are often unknown. Preparatory parameters such as firing temperature, heating and cooling rates, soaking time, and kiln atmosphere greatly influence the chemical and structural properties of the resulting products. Analysis of replicas produced under well-defined laboratory conditions help identify indicators for such process parameters and therefore provide valuable insights into historical production workflows. Raman micro-spectroscopy is a valuable method here because of its high sensitivity for crystal-chemical alterations coupled with a high spatial resolution. Previous studies on pyrogenic anhydrite were able to distinguish between gypsum materials that were heated at different temperatures between 400 – 900 °C [1, 2]. The results of thermal experiments with natural dolomite powder between 500 – 900 °C are presented, evaluating the thermal decomposition of dolomite and the consequent formation of calcium carbonate. Raman measurements were performed at room temperature on calcinated samples, as well as subsequently hydrated and re-carbonated samples. A peak-fitting routine using python scripts was employed to extract the peak positions and the full width at half maximum (FWHM) values of the ν1-, ν4- and L-bands of the carbonates. The results reveal the formation of Mg-calcite from dolomite at 700 – 750 °C and the formation of Mg-free calcite after calcination above 750 °C and subsequent hydration and re-carbonation. The findings from the thermal experiments are compared with Raman-microscopy mappings on medieval and reenacted mortars containing dolomite. Mg-calcite with comparable peak position and FWHM values have been successfully identified, proving Raman spectroscopy to be a suitable tool for elucidating the manufacturing procedures of anthropogenic materials. T2 - European Mineralogical Conference 2024 CY - Dublin, Ireland DA - 18.08.2024 KW - Raman spectroscopy KW - Dolomite KW - Mineral thermometry PY - 2024 AN - OPUS4-61975 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Zöllner, Moritz T1 - Thermal decomposition of dolomite: Raman spectroscopy as a thermometric tool for the analysis of carbonates in mortar binders. N2 - High-spectral resolution Raman spectroscopy is a powerful tool for the chemical and structural analysis in material sciences. Beyond its usage for the qualitative identification of minerals, Raman spectroscopy has been applied for the quantitative characterisation of chemical phases. The precise measurement of Raman peak position and band width values allows for an empirical differentiation of chemically similar phases and thus provides valuable insights to the structural properties of a material. In the field of archaeometry, the crystal structure of minerals can be used to elucidate the preparatory parameters of historical samples, such as the firing temperature. Comparison of historical materials with replicas produced under well-defined laboratory conditions help identify indicators for such process parameters. Previous Raman studies on pyrogenic anhydrite were able to distinguish between gypsum materials that were heated at different temperatures between 400–900 °C [1–3]. The results of thermal experiments with natural dolomite powder between 500–900 °C are presented, evaluating the thermal decomposition of dolomite and the consequent formation of calcium carbonate. Raman measurements were performed with excitation at 532 nm and 1800 mm-1 grating at room temperature on calcinated samples, as well as subsequently hydrated and re-carbonated samples. These high-resolution conditions are necessary to resolve the individual spectral contributions of different calcium/magnesium carbonate species. However, this sensitivity does not come without potential pitfalls. While the usage of micro-Raman spectroscopy with high spectral resolution shows great promise for evaluating minor shifts in peak positions and band widths, several technical aspects must be considered. For example, great care must be taken to exclude the thermal impact of the highly focused Raman laser on the sample. Similarly, exact standard operating procedures have to be followed to circumvent mechanical hysteresis in the alignment of the spectrographs’ grating. The influence of these two effects is presented and effective countermeasures are introduced to avoid resulting systematic errors. Statistical reliability and chemical imaging both rely on the individual analysis of thousands of Raman spectra. Thus, besides the spectral acquisition, also highly automated data analysis must be applied. Therefore, a peak-fitting routine using python scripts was employed to extract the peak positions and the full width at half maximum (FWHM) values of the ν1-, ν4- and L-bands of the carbonates. The results reveal the formation of Mg-calcite from dolomite at 700–750 °C and the formation of Mg-free calcite after calcination above 750 °C and subsequent hydration and re-carbonation (Fig. 1a). The findings from the thermal experiments are compared with Raman-microscopy mappings on medieval and reenacted mortars containing dolomite. Mg-calcite with comparable peak position and FWHM values have been successfully identified (Fig. 1b), proving Raman spectroscopy to be a suitable tool for elucidating the manufacturing procedures of anthropogenic materials. T2 - 16th GeoRAMAN Conference CY - Rhodes, Greece DA - 24.09.2024 KW - Raman spectroscopy KW - Dolomite KW - Mineral thermometry PY - 2024 AN - OPUS4-61977 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Zöllner, Moritz T1 - Thermal decomposition of dolomite: Raman spectroscopy as a thermometric tool for the analysis of carbonates in mortar binders N2 - The reconstruction of the thermal history of minerals is an on-going challenge in the study of anthropogenic materials, e.g., ceramics and mortar binders. For millennia carbonate rocks have been used as the starting material, though the exact manufacturing procedures are often unknown. Preparatory parameters such as firing temperature, heating and cooling rates, soaking time, and kiln atmosphere greatly influence the chemical and structural properties of the resulting products. Analysis of replicas produced under well-defined laboratory conditions help identify indicators for such process parameters and therefore provide valuable insights into historical production workflows. Raman micro-spectroscopy is a valuable method here because of its high sensitivity for crystal-chemical alterations coupled with a high spatial resolution. Previous studies on pyrogenic anhydrite were able to distinguish between gypsum materials that were heated at different temperatures between 400–900 °C [1-3]. The results of thermal experiments with natural dolomite powder between 500–900 °C are presented, evaluating the thermal decomposition of dolomite and the consequent formation of calcium carbonate. Raman measurements were performed at room temperature on calcinated samples, as well as subsequently hydrated and re-carbonated samples. Raman band positions and the full width at half maximum (FWHM) values of the ν1-, ν4- and L-bands of the carbonates are extracted and reveal the formation of Mg-calcite from dolomite at 700–750 °C and the formation of Mg-free calcite after calcination above 750 °C and subsequent hydration and re-carbonation. The findings from the thermal experiments are compared with Raman-microscopy mappings on medieval and reenacted mortars containing dolomite. Mg-calcite with comparable peak position and FWHM values have been successfully identified, proving Raman spectroscopy to be a suitable tool for elucidating the manufacturing procedures of anthropogenic materials. T2 - SciX 2024 CY - Raleigh, NC, USA DA - 20.10.2024 KW - Raman spectroscopy KW - Dolomite KW - Mineral thermometry PY - 2024 AN - OPUS4-61978 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Grimmer, Christoph T1 - Development, application and measurement uncertainty of emission reference materials N2 - Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) emitted by furniture and building materials can cause health issues. For an improvement of indoor air quality low emitting materials should be used. Quality assurance and –control (QA/QC) measures require an emission reference material (ERM) with a predictable emission rate of VOCs. The idea is to use porous materials as ERM, which store the VOCs inside their pores and emit them constantly. T2 - Webinar Metrology for Indoor Air Quality Reference materials for QA/QC of the emission test chamber procedure CY - Online meeting DA - 11.04.2024 KW - Emission reference materials KW - Indoor air quality KW - Materials emissions test KW - VOC PY - 2024 AN - OPUS4-59963 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Richter, Matthias T1 - Emission reference materials for indoor air measurements N2 - In industrialised countries more than 80% of the time is spent indoors. Products, such as building materials and furniture, emit volatile organic compounds (VOCs), which are therefore ubiquitous in indoor air. VOC in combination may, under certain environmental and occupational conditions, result in reported sensory irritation and health complaints. Emission concentrations can become further elevated in new or refurbished buildings where the rate of air exchange with fresh ambient air may be limited due to improved energy saving aspects. A healthy indoor environment can be achieved by controlling the sources and by eliminating or limiting the release of harmful substances into the air. One way is to use (building) materials proved to be low emitting. Meanwhile, a worldwide network of professional commercial and non-commercial laboratories performing emission tests for the evaluation of products for interior use has been established. Therefore, comparability of test results must be ensured. A laboratory’s proficiency can be proven by internal and external validation measures that both include the application of suitable emission reference materials (ERM). For the emission test chamber procedure according to EN 16516, no artificial ERM is commercially available. The EU-funded EMPIR project MetrIAQ aims to fill this gap by developing new and improved ERMs. The goal is to obtain a material with a reproducible and temporally constant compound release (less than 10 % variability over 14 days). Two approaches were tested: the impregnation of porous materials with VOC, and the encapsulation of VOC in polymer microcapsules. Impregnation is performed with help of an autoclave and supercritical CO2. The encapsulation is done by interfacial polymerisation on VOC droplets. For both approaches, synthesis and/or material parameters were varied to obtain an optimal ERM. Findings about the optimisation of ERM generation, as well as performance of the best emission reference materials, will be presented. T2 - GAS Analysis 2024 CY - Paris, France DA - 30.01.2024 KW - Emission reference materials KW - Materials emissions test KW - VOC KW - Indoor air quality PY - 2024 AN - OPUS4-59506 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER -