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A hydrofluoric acid-free method to dissolve and quantify silica nanoparticles in aqueous and solid matrices.

ABSTRACT: As the commercial use of synthetic amorphous silica nanomaterials (SiO₂-NPs) increases, their effects on the environment and human health have still not been explored in detail. An often-insurmountable obstacle for SiO₂-NP fate and hazard research is the challenging analytics of solid particulate silica species, which involves toxic and corrosive hydrofluoric acid (HF). We therefore developed and validated a set of simple hydrofluoric acid-free sample preparation methods for the quantification of amorphous SiO₂ micro- and nanoparticles. To circumvent HF, we dissolved the SiO₂-NPs by base-catalyzed hydrolysis at room temperature or under microwave irradiation using potassium hydroxide, replacing the stabilizing fluoride ions with OH^-, and exploiting the stability of the orthosilicic acid monomer under a strongly basic pH. Inductively coupled plasma - optical emission spectroscopy (ICP-OES) or a colorimetric assay served to quantify silicon. The lowest KOH: SiO₂ molar ratio to effectively dissolve and quantify SiO₂-NPs was 1.2 for colloidal Stöber SiO₂-NPs at a pH >12. Fumed SiO₂-NPs (Aerosil^®) or food grade SiO₂ (E551) containing SiO₂-NPs were degradable at higher KOH: SiO₂ ratios >8000. Thus, hydrofluoric acid-free SiO₂-NP digestion protocols based on KOH present an effective (recoveries of >84%), less hazardous, and easy to implement alternative to current methods.

SUBMITTER: Bossert D

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6538650 | biostudies-literature | 2019 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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A hydrofluoric acid-free method to dissolve and quantify silica nanoparticles in aqueous and solid matrices.

Bossert David D Urban Dominic A DA Maceroni Mattia M Ackermann-Hirschi Liliane L Haeni Laetitia L Yajan Phattadon P Spuch-Calvar Miguel M Rothen-Rutishauser Barbara B Rodriguez-Lorenzo Laura L Petri-Fink Alke A Schwab Fabienne F

Scientific reports 20190528 1

As the commercial use of synthetic amorphous silica nanomaterials (SiO<sub>2</sub>-NPs) increases, their effects on the environment and human health have still not been explored in detail. An often-insurmountable obstacle for SiO<sub>2</sub>-NP fate and hazard research is the challenging analytics of solid particulate silica species, which involves toxic and corrosive hydrofluoric acid (HF). We therefore developed and validated a set of simple hydrofluoric acid-free sample preparation methods fo ...[more]

PMID: 31138841

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Project description:Nanoparticles (NPs) have been widely utilized in the food industry as additives with their beneficial characteristics, such as improving sensory property and processing suitability, enhancing functional and nutritional values, and extending shelf-life of foods. Silica is used as an anti-caking agent to improve flow property of powered ingredients and as a carrier for flavors or active compounds in food. Along with the rapid development of nanotechnology, the sizes of silica fall into nanoscale, thereby raising concerns about the potential toxicity of nano-sized silica materials. There have been a number of studies carried out to investigate possible adverse effects of NPs on the gastrointestinal tract. The interactions between NPs and surrounding food matrices should be also taken into account since the interactions can affect their bioavailability, efficacy, and toxicity. In the present study, we investigated the interactions between food additive silica NPs and food matrices, such as saccharides, proteins, lipids, and minerals. Quantitative analysis was performed to determine food component-NP corona using HPLC, fluorescence quenching, GC-MS, and ICP-AES. The results demonstrate that zeta potential and hydrodynamic radius of silica NPs changed in the presence of all food matrices, but their solubility was not affected. However, quantitative analysis on the interactions revealed that a small portion of food matrices interacted with silica NPs and the interactions were highly dependent on the type of food component. Moreover, minor nutrients could also affect the interactions, as evidenced by higher NP interaction with honey rather than with a simple sugar mixture containing an equivalent amount of fructose, glucose, sucrose, and maltose. These findings provide fundamental information to extend our understanding about the interactions between silica NPs and food components and to predict the interaction effect on the safety aspects of food-grade NPs.

Dataset Information

A hydrofluoric acid-free method to dissolve and quantify silica nanoparticles in aqueous and solid matrices.

Publications

A hydrofluoric acid-free method to dissolve and quantify silica nanoparticles in aqueous and solid matrices.

Similar Datasets

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