Poster Corner PC05, 27th Annual Meeting from 07/05/2017 to 11/05/2017
Electron microscopy methods for metallic nanoparticles applied tonanoplastics: Challenges and opportunities.
M. AL SID CHEIKH, University of Plymouth / School of Biological and Marine Sciences; R. Kaegi, Eawag Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology;
S.J. Rowland, Plymouth University/ School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences;
R.C. Thompson, Plymouth University / School of Biological and Marine Sciences;
Abstract
Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) is a powerful technique to analyze accurately the size of nanoparticles (NPs) and is indispensable to characterize NPs in natural samples. Typically, sample preparation methods consisting in drying a small volume of NPs suspension on a substrate has a low number of NPs recovery (i.e. < 10%), form aggregates and are consequently not representative of the analyzed samples (Baalousha et al., 2014). Interestingly, new sample preparation methods for metallic NPs forcing a stronger adsorption on a functionalized surface substrate and using centrifugation have shown to be more efficient (i.e. recovery up to 71% and concentration correlation mass/number of NPs > 95 %) and result in evenly distributed particle on the sample carriers (Baalousha et al., 2014). The aim of our work is to develop a standardized sample preparation method for TEM analyses of nanoparticles (includingnanoplastics) that will be used in environmental studies. Here, we present the challenges of applying a method first developed for metallic NPs to nanoplastics. For instance, nano-polymers presents several challenges, such as their low particle density, their shape and their surface charge, complicating their deposition on the substrate via centrifugation. By using different centrifugation methods, we are developing an approach that induces a good adsorption on the TEM substrate. This development will have a high environmental relevance as it will (i) allow to accurately measure the size distributions and concentrationsofnanoplastics (ii) will contribute to work at environmental nanoplastic concentrations and thus (iii) will contribute to numerous studies that need these accurate measurements such as nanotoxicology studies that aim at assessing of the risk of nanoplastics in the environment. Baalousha M, Prasad A, Lead JR (2014). Environ Sci Process Impacts 16:1338–1347. doi: 10.1039/C3EM00712
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