Nanoscale–Specific Analytics: How to Push the Analytic Excellence in Express Analysis of CBRN

Abstract

Nanomaterials (NM) are rapidly finding a wider application in modern technological products due to their unique properties associated with their small dimension. Accurate detection of nano-scale materials by fast and precise analytical techniques is essential in order to control their safety and security. However, analyzing nanoscale analytes remains extremely challenging due to their limitless diversity, complex and dynamic nature. For this reason, traditional analytical techniques, hyphenated systems or “univariate” arrays thereon are being pushed to their limits; new innovative approaches to face state of the art problems are required. Comprehensive analysis is crucial for the detection of the limitless list of NMs: functionality and reliability of new approaches depend on the ability to simultaneously control the key descriptors of NMs (at the very least, their geometric features, composition and interfacial functionality). An overview of the features of the relationship between analytical chemistry and nanoworld is presented here. We discuss some traditional methods and the emergence of powerful new technologies in nanophotonics. One of the most powerful analytical techniques for the express identification of NMs is plasmonic scattering interferometry. It is based on an NM-induced interferometric “amplification” of the disturbance caused by a nano-object and its transformation into a micron-range image (NM’s “fingerprint”), which is easy to visualize using standard technical means of ordinary microscopy. The NM’s “fingerprint” is its virtual marker similar to regular QR- or bar-codes. In the end, a brief discussion of multivariate approaches in the development of new analytical methodologies for identifying and quantifying nanomaterials, along with a short outlook on the key takeaways summarizing the most important points in nanoscale analytics is also included.