资源环境科技发展态势分析平台

Application of different engineered nanomaterials is fast-growing, leading to increased chances of environmental release. Consequently, a robust preliminary detection method for nanomaterials in major ecological environments is beneficial. We report a facile strategy using intensity and number metric of dynamic light scattering to detect presence of nanomaterials in river water. Samples from eight locations of the Tennessee River within Chattanooga were analyzed using our dynamic light scattering technique as a representative assessment of an urban region of Southeastern United States. The average particle sizes (108 – 294 nm) indicated a possibility of nanomaterials in this region. The results were complemented via scanning electron microscopy. We found that a criteria of identifying peaks at the smallest size distribution for the intensity metric was useful in detecting presence of nanomaterials in environmental samples. The novelty of our approach is the ability to rapidly assess environmental water in solution form with minimum sample preparation artifacts.

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