Development of a novel method for trace analysis of nanomaterials in water

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The proposed research aims to develop a new method that is ideal for trace analysis of nanomaterials in municipal water from the dumping of waste containing nanomaterials. Although all nanomaterials have enormous prospect in industrial, consumer and medical applications, disposal of these products opens up a wide range of human exposure that needs to be well controlled. A method of high analytical sensitivity will help ameliorate the challenge of providing Canadian households with safe water for drinking, cooking, bathing and gardening in the short term. Our novel approach is based on the controlled coating of nanomaterials with a thick layer of polymer to grow larger, albeit at different rates. These grown nanomaterials can be separated by capillary electrophoresis due to differences in electrophoretic mobility, depending on their electronic charge, size, shape and surface functionality. Detection sensitivity is increased by the UV absorptivity of a thick polymer coating and can be further enhanced by adsorbing a compound of high quantum yield for laser-induced fluorescence detection.