Nanotechnologies — Size distribution and concentration of inorganic nanoparticles in aqueous media via single particle inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry

ISO/TS 19590:2017 specifies a method for the detection of nanoparticles in aqueous suspensions and characterization of the particle number and particle mass concentration and the number-based size distribution using ICP-MS in a time-resolved mode to determine the mass of individual nanoparticles and ionic concentrations.

The method is applicable for the determination of the size of inorganic nanoparticles (e.g. metal and metal oxides like Au, Ag, TiO2, BVO4, etc.), with size ranges of 10 nm to 100 nm (and larger particles up to 1 000 nm to 2 000 nm) in aqueous suspensions. Metal compounds other than oxides (e.g. sulfides, etc.), metal composites or coated particles with a metal core can be determined if the chemical composition and density are known. Particle number concentrations that can be determined in aqueous suspensions range from 106 particles/L to 109 particles/L which corresponds to mass concentrations in the range of approximately 1 ng/L to 1 000 ng/L (for 60 nm Au particles). Actual numbers depend on the type of mass spectrometer used and the type of nanoparticle analysed.

In addition to the particle concentrations, ionic concentrations in the suspension can also be de