Detection, size characterization and quantification of silver nanoparticles in consumer products by particle collision coulometry

Silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) are widely used in industrial and consumer products owing to its antimicrobial nature and multiple applications. Consequently, their release into the environment is becoming a big concern because of their negative impacts on living organisms. In this work, AgNPs were detected at a potential of +0.70 V vs. Ag/AgCl reference electrode, characterized, and quantified in consumer products by particle collision coulometry (PCC). The electrochemical results were compared with those measured with electron microscopy and single-particle inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. The theoretical and practical peculiarities of the application of PCC technique in the characterization of AgNPs were studied. Reproducible size distributions of the AgNPs were measured in a range 10-100 nm diameters. A power allometric function model was found between the frequency of the AgNPs collisions onto the electrode surface and the number concentration of nanoparticles up to a silver concentration of 10(10) L-1 (ca. 25 ng L-1 for 10 nm AgNPs). A linear relationship between the number of collisions and the number concentration of silver nanoparticles was observed up to 5x10(7) L-1. The PCC method was applied to the quantification and size determination of the AgNPs in three-silver containing consumer products (a natural antibiotic and two food supplements). The mean of the size distributions (of the order 10-20 nm diameters) agrees with those measured by electron microscopy.Graphical abstract The areas of current spikes from the chronoamperogram allow the rapid calculation of size distributions of AgNPs that impact onto the working electrode.