This protocol is meant to serve as a supplement to the NIST-NCL protocols PCC-8, “Determination of gold in rat tissue by inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS)” (http://ncl.cancer.gov/NCL_Method_PCC-8.pdf) and PCC-9, “Determination of gold in rat blood by ICP-MS” (http://ncl.cancer.gov/NCL_Method_PCC-9.pdf). Its purpose is to highlight the ICP-MS capabilities of the Nanotechnology Characterization Laboratory (NCL) and to expand on the detailed protocols offered in PCC-8 and PCC-9 with additional experimental nuances in working with alternate materials or tissues.

ICP-MS is an analytical tool that can be used to provide elemental analysis and can measure the concentration of most metals (see Figure 1). With the current instrumentation, NCL has the ability to measure most transition metals, provided a standard reference material is available.

There will be general issues such as instrumental drift and run-to-run variability, as well as nanoparticle specific issues such as sample and biological digestion, that will require specific optimization for each experiment. This protocol is meant to address as many of these issues as possible and will be updated as the NCL’s experience with nanoparticle-related ICP-MS advances.

• NCL_Method_PCC-8 and PCC-9_Supplement.pdf(PDF | 936 KB)

Researchers should cite this work as follows:

• Jeffrey Clogston, Matthew Hansen (2020). Supplement to PCC-8 & PCC-9. (Version 2.0). NCI Hub. doi:10.17917/B68Q-T959

  BibTex | EndNote

1. ICP-MS
2. Nanoparticles