How to distinguish natural versus engineered nanomaterials: insights from the analysis of TiO2 and CeO2 in soils

Emerging investigator series: automated single-nanoparticle quantification and classification: a holistic study of particles into and out of wastewater treatment plants in Switzerland

“…In addition, we know from previous research that our mmNP types match, at least in part, results from studies focused on Ce, Ti, Zr, and Zn natural NPs. 14,15,22,[24][25][26][27][28][29] In Fig. 4b-g, we extract data from selected mmNP clusters and plot the normalized mass of elements that are measured in at least 1% of the particles that make up each clusters.…”

“…Being able to distinguish between naturally occurring NPs (NNPs) and engineered NPs (ENPs) has been the topic of many studies. 10,[22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29] Although there is ambiguity on the best method of investigation of these particles types, the most prominent NP characteristics used to categorize a NP as either engineered or natural include composition, crystal structure, particle morphology, and shape. 30,31 An advantage of sp-ICP-TOFMS is that one can simultaneously measure most of the metal and metalloid elements in single run, which means that non-targeted analysis can be used to detect variable and unique elemental fingerprints of different particle types.…”

“…25 Researchers have also focused on the measurement of Ti-containing NPs and the discrimination of Ti-containing NNPs and TiO 2 ENPs. 14,22,[26][27][28]32 In one such study, researchers demonstrated that Ti-containing NNPs are associated with Mn, Fe, V, and Pb; 14 in another study, researchers suggested that Nb is an indicator of Ti-containing NNPs and such NPs could also contains traces of Ta, W, and other elements. 27 In fact, both of these elemental associations are consistent with geochemical knowledge: titanium iron oxide (e.g.…”

Data Shepherding in Nanotechnology: An Antimicrobial Functionality Data Capture Template

“…The diameter of a solid sphere that would exhibit the same hydrodynamic friction as the particle of interest [41].…”

Quantification of anthropogenic TiO2 nanoparticles in soils and sediments combining size fractionation and trace element ratio

“…12–14 However, the tested nanoparticles were all based on rare elements with low natural backgrounds such as Cu or Ag. On the other hand, trace element ratios have been used to correct for the natural background for various samples containing a high amount of natural particles such as sewage spills, 15 soil, 16 road runoff, 17 surface water, 18 stormwater, 19 and wastewater. 20 In the latter approach, the whole sample is digested and analysed directly using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS).…”