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An overview about different analytical approaches will be presented of how to detect metals in individual biological cells by use of ICP-MS. For this purpose, we are using different sample introduction systems for ICP-MS for detection, imaging and quantification of metals at cellular levels.
By use of laser ablation, we have studied the up-take by and distribution of nanoparticles in single cells. Recently we have developed staining techniques to measure protein and DNA content of cells and identifying the cell status by immunoassays using metal-tagging of antibodies. New research based on cell arrays will be shortly discussed.
Using pneumatic nebulization and microdroplet generation, we have also studied the up-take of nanoparticles and toxic metals as well as essential elements in single cells using different ICP-MS mass spectrometric concepts (sector field instrument, triple-quad instrument, time of flight (CyTOF) instrument).
The different ICP-MS based methods will be compared concerning their analytical figures of merit and their strengths and weaknesses will be evaluated.
The EU recommendation for a definition of nanomaterial (2011/696/EU) should allow the identification of a particulate nanomaterial based on the number-based metric criterion according to which at least 50% of the constituent particles have the smallest dimension between 1 and 100 nm. Within the European Project NanoDefine (www.nanodefine.eu) a two-tier approach has been developed, whereby firstly a screening method is applied for the rough classification as a nanomaterial or non-nanomaterial, and for borderline cases a confirmatory method (imaging methods or field flow fractionation) must be considered.
One of the measurement methods well suited to particulate powder is the determination of volume-specific surface area (VSSA) by means of gas adsorption as well as skeletal density. The value of 60 m2/cm3 corresponding to spherical, monodisperse particles with a diameter of 100 nm constitutes the threshold for decisioning if the material is a nanomaterial or non-nanomaterial. The correct identification of a nanomaterial by VSSA method (positive test) is accepted by the EU recommendation.
However, the application of the VSSA method is associated also by some limitations. The threshold of 60 m2/cm3 is dependent on the particle shape. For particles containing micro-pores or having a microporous coating, false positive results will be produced.
Furthermore, broad particle size distributions – as typically for ceramic materials – as well as multi-modal size distributions make necessary to adjust the threshold.
Based on examples of commercially available ceramic powders, the applicability of the VSSA approach will be tested (in relation with SEM and TEM measurements) in order to expand the actual knowledge and
improve the method.
Extraction of true, 3D shape (and size) of non-spherical nanoparticles (NPs) is associated with errors by conventional 2D electron microscopy using projection images. Significant efforts within the ISO technical committee TC 229 ‘Nanotechnologies’ are aimed at establishing accurate TEM and SEM measurement of NP size and shape as robust, standard procedures. Study groups have been organizing inter-laboratory comparisons on well-selected NP systems according to the market needs, such as aggregated titania nano-powder for which size and shape distribution of primary crystallites of irregular shape must be measured accurately. To be noticed is e. g. the fact that the measurement procedure allows only manual selection of the particles clearly distinguishable for analysis as well as manual definition of the contour of the imaged NPs.
An inter-laboratory exercise on titania NPs (pure anatase, grown by hydrothermal synthesis) of well-defined non-spherical shape, i.e. bipyramidal has been recently started within ISO/TC 229 under similar conditions as for the irregular shaped titania. Overlapped particles were allowed to be considered, as long as they are clearly distinguishable. One decisive NP selection criterion was to analyze only those NPs with a roundness value below 0.7, i.e. the NPs laying on the support foil and, hence, with projection areas clearly deviating from perfect circles (R=1). The overall evaluation (for 15 labs) of the size descriptors (area, Feret, minFeret, perimeter) and shape descriptors (aspect ratio, roundness, compactness, extent) by analysis of variance is just to be finished and included in ISO/WD 21363 Nanotechnologies -- Protocol for particle size distribution by transmission electron microscopy.
Coming as response to the needs expressed by The European Commission mandating CEN, CENELEC and ETSI to develop European standards for methods that can characterize reliably manufactured nanomaterials, a new European metrology research project ‘nPSize - Improved traceability chain of nanoparticle size measurements’ has received funding for the next three years. The project will develop methods, reference materials and modelling to improve the traceability chain, comparability and compatibility for nanoparticle size measurements to support standardization.
nPSize has selected only those nanoparticle sizing techniques which are able to provide traceable results: electron microscopy (SEM, TSEM and TEM), AFM and SAXS. Metrologists from national metrological or designated institutes (PTB, LNE, LGC, VSL, SMD and BAM) will work together with scientists with know-how in development of new nano reference nanoparticles (CEA, University of Turin, LGC, BAM) and with experts in advanced data processing, e.g. by machine learning (POLLEN). With the support of DIN, the project outcomes will be channelized to standardization bodies such as ISO/TC 229 ‘Nanotechnologies’/JWG 2 ‘Nanoparticle Measurement and Characterization’ (SEM, TSEM and TEM), CEN/TC 352 ‘Nanotechnologies’ (SEM, TSEM and TEM), ISO/TC 201/SC 9 (AFM), ISO/TC 24/SC 4 (SAXS).
Three technical work packages will ensure input for impact to standardization community, nanoparticle manufacturers, instrument manufacturers, and (accredited) service laboratories:
- WP1 Performance and traceability of characterization methods
- WP2 Reference materials - Preparation and Characterization
- WP3 Modelling and development of measurement procedures
Well-defined non-spherical nanoparticles shapes such as cubes, platelets, bipyramids, rods/acicular will be developed, with mono- and polydisperse size distribution, as well as with accurate particle number concentration (by SAXS and isotopically enrichment for ICP-MS).
Physical modelling of the signal for TSEM, SEM, 3D-AFM and SAXS will be used to feed machine learning modeling from a-priori measurement data. Further, data fusion will be developed for hybrid sizing techniques: SEM with TSEM/TEM, SEM/TSEM with AFM, SEM/TSEM with SAXS with the final aim of improving the true shape and size of non-spherical nanoparticles by a better estimation of the measurement uncertainties.
In the second half-time of the project dedicated workshops (focused on method improvement and reference materials development) will be organized to disseminate the gained knowledge to end-users. Further, a data library with relevant tagged measurement data is planned to be organized and made publicly available. Inter-laboratory comparisons based on the newly developed multi-modal nano reference materials will be organized preferably within VAMAS/TWA 34 ‘Nanoparticle populations’.
Controlled electrospray deposition of nanoparticles for improved analysis by electron microscopy
(2018)
Of many experimental techniques for measuring particle sizes and size distributions, electron microscopy (EM) is considered as the gold standard, especially in the nano range (1–100 nm). Furthermore, high-resolution X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) in conjunction with EM can be applied to individual NPs. Preparation of an EM sample for generic particulate materials is a difficult task. Usually, the particles in a suspension are deposited on a support. However, this procedure includes the drying of larger solvent amounts on the substrate itself, and this can affect the spatial distribution of the deposited particles. One possibility to overcome this is the use of an electrospray system, where the suspension of particles is sprayed onto the substrate in charged droplets that are so small that they either dry off on the substrate immediately without affecting the position of particles, or even already during their flight time to the substrate. Additionally, the charging of particles minimizes agglomeration and aggregation, maximizing the collection of the EM grids. The prototype of an electrospray deposition system from RAMEM under its trademark IONER (www.ioner.eu) was tested.
Electrospray is theoretically described since a long time, but no dedicated commercial instruments are available for the preparation of TEM grids yet, apart from electrostatic deposition of aerosols. Several materials have been sprayed onto TEM grids and the resulting particle distributions were evaluated. Operation parameters such as the sample flow-rate, capillary – substrate distance, electric field strength and sampling period length have been optimized. It was found that the particles deposited by electrospray generally show a much more homogeneous spatial distribution on the substrate and a substantial increase of the number of single particles (suited to automatic analysis).
The project has received funding from the European Union’s Seventh Programme for research, technological development and demonstration under grant agreement No 604347.
An overview about different analytical approaches will be presented of how to detect metals in individual biological cells by use of ICP-MS. For this purpose, we are using different sample introduction systems for ICP-MS for detection, imaging and quantification of metals at cellular levels.
By use of laser ablation, we have studied the up-take by and distribution of nanoparticles in single cells. Recently we have developed staining techniques to measure protein and DNA content of cells and identifying the cell status by immunoassays using metal-tagging of antibodies. New research based on cell arrays will be shortly discussed.
Using pneumatic nebulization and microdroplet generation, we have also studied the up-take of nanoparticles and toxic metals as well as essential elements in single cells using different ICP-MS mass spectrometric concepts (sector field instrument, triple-quad instrument, time of flight (CyTOF) instrument).
The different ICP-MS based methods will be compared concerning their analytical figures of merit and their strengths and weaknesses will be evaluated.
Carboxy, amino, and thiol groups play a critical role in a variety of physiological and biological processes and are frequently used for bioconjugation reactions. Moreover, they enable size control and tuning of the surface during the synthesis of particle systems. Especially, thiols have a high binding affinity to noble metals and semiconductors (SC). Thus, simple, inexpensive, robust, and fast methods for the quantification of surface groups and the monitoring of reactions involving ligands are of considerable importance for the characterization of modified or stabilized nanomaterials including polymers.
We studied the potential of the Ellman’s assay, recently used for the quantification of thiol ligands on SC nanocrystals by us1 and the 4-aldrithiol assay for the determination of thiol groups in molecular systems and on polymeric, noble and SC nanomaterials. The results were validated with ICP-OES and reaction mechanisms of both methods were studied photometrically and with ESI-TOF-MS.
The investigation of the reaction mechanisms of both methods revealed the influence of different thiols on the stoichiometry of the reactions2, yielding different mixed disulfides and the thiol-specific products spectroscopically detected. The used methods can quantify freely accessible surface groups on nanoparticles, e.g., modified polystyrene nanoparticles. For thiol ligands coordinatively bound to surface atoms of, e.g., noble or SC nanomaterials, depending on the strength of the thiol-surface bonds, particle dissolution prior to assay performance can be necessary.
We could demonstrate the reliability of the Ellman’s and aldrithiol assay for the quantification of surface groups on nanomaterials by ICP-OES and derived assay-specific requirements and limitations. Generally, it is strongly recommended to carefully control assay performance for new samples, components, and sample ingredients to timely identify possible interferences distorting quantification.
Many applications of nanomaterials in the life sciences require the controlled functionalization of these materials with ligands like polyethylene glycol (PEG) and/or biomolecules such as peptides, proteins, and DNA. This enables to tune their hydrophilicity and biocompatibility, minimize unspecific interactions, improve biofunctionalization efficiencies, and enhance blood circulation times. Moreover, it is the ultimate prerequisite for their use as reporters in assays or the design of targeted optial probes for bioimaging. At the core of these functionalization strategies are reliable and validated methods for surface group and ligand quantification that can be preferably performed with routine laboratory instrumentation, require only small amounts of substances, and are suitable for many different types of nanomaterials.
We present here versatile and simple concepts for the quantification of common functional groups, ligands, and biomolecules on different types of organic and inorganic nano-materials, using different types of optical reporters and method validation with the aid of multimodal reporters, method comparisons, and mass balances.
The EC Recommendation on the definition of nanomaterial1, based solely on size of the constituent particles, foresees development of harmonised measurement methods ensuring ‘consistent results across materials and over time’. The EU/FP7 large research project NanoDefine (http://www.nanodefine.eu) has been exclusively dedicated to support the implementation of this EC Recommendation for the European Union’s legislation. For the first time, measurement techniques able to determine the size of nanoparticles have been evaluated systematically on a well-defined set of quality control materials (spherical, monodisperse) as well as industrial materials of complex shapes and considerable polydispersity. Particularly based on the analytical performance of the measurement techniques as tested on the challenging real-world particulate materials, it was possible to formulate recommendations for use of a new tiered approach consisting of screening and confirmatory techniques. Thus, a consistent framework of guidance for nanomaterial identification according to the EC Definition has been issued in form of the NanoDefiner e-tool (https://labs.inf.fh-dortmund.de/NanoDefiner), with a transparent decision flow scheme and an extensive user manual. Selected examples of analysis and classification as nano-/non-nanomaterials will be given, highlighting the limits of applicability of the available measurement techniques in dependence on sample properties. On some recent relevant developments in sample preparation – as a crucial part for an accurate analysis - will be also reported.