μTAS (micro total analysis systems) for the high-throughput measurement of nanomaterial solubility

Abstract

There is a consensus in the nanoecotoxicology community that better analytical tools i.e. faster and more accurate ones, are needed for the physicochemical characterisation of nanomaterials in environmentally/ biologically relevant media. In this study, we introduce the concept of μTAS (Micro Total Analysis Systems), which was a term coined to encapsulate the integration of laboratory processes on a single microchip. Our focus here is on the use of a capillary electrophoresis (CE) with conductivity detection microchip and how this may be used for the measurement of dissolution of metal oxide nanomaterials. Our preliminary results clearly show promise in that the device is able to: a) measure ionic zinc in various ecotox media with high selectivity b) track the dynamic dissolution events of zinc oxide (ZnO) nanomaterial when dispersed in fish medium. © IOP Publishing Ltd 2013.