Nanoparticle-assisted chemical speciation of trace elements

Speciation analysis of trace elements is a relevant topic with involvements in many areas, e.g. environment, food, biology, medicine, etc. Nanomaterials have mainly found application in speciation analysis taking advantage of their sorptive, catalytic or optical properties. Different kinds of nanosorbents (metal oxides, carbon nanotubes, fullerenes, noble metals, etc.) have contributed to achieving simple and efficient speciation strategies in combination with atomic spectrometry. The design of new interfaces involving photocatalysts such as nano-TiO2 has enabled a remarkable simplification of hyphenated techniques for speciation by promoting both photooxidation and photoreduction reactions. Finally, plasmonic (e.g. AuNPs and AgNPs) and fluorescent nanoparticles (e.g. quantum dots, carbon dots) have provided selective and sensitive assays for optical sensing of different elemental chemical forms. In this overview, we offer an insight into the analytical potential of different nanomaterials for chemical speciation of trace elements. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.