The use of high performance liquid chromatography—Inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry in the analysis of inorganic nanomaterials

Abstract The undeniable use of nanomaterials in our daily life requires the development of quantitative strategies that permit to address the presence of nanostructures in their original form but also, of the generated degradation products. For this aim, reliable separation strategies like those using silica-based reversed-phase columns have proved to be an excellent alternative under optimized separation conditions. In this regard, the use of ionic surfactants that permit column surface modification to minimize silanol effects has also provided alteration of the partition mechanism turning it into a size-exclusion like effect. The effect of the presence of such species in the mobile phase will be revised in the present chapter addressing also the most relevant applications and the current limitations when used in combination with ICP-MS detection.