TY - JOUR
T1 - Uncertainties of size measurements in electron microscopy characterization of nanomaterials in foods
AU - Dudkiewicz, Agnieszka
AU - Boxall, Alistair B. A.
AU - Chaudhry, Qasim
AU - Mølhave, Kristian
AU - Tiede, Karen
AU - Hofmann, Peter
AU - Linsinger, Thomas P. J.
PY - 2015
Y1 - 2015
N2 - Electron microscopy is a recognized standard tool for nanomaterial characterization, and recommended by the European Food Safety Authority for the size measurement of nanomaterials in food. Despite this, little data have been published assessing the reliability of the method, especially for size measurement of nanomaterials characterized by a broad size distribution and/or added to food matrices. This study is a thorough investigation of the measurement uncertainty when applying electron microscopy for size measurement of engineered nanomaterials in foods. Our results show that the number of measured particles was only a minor source of measurement uncertainty for nanomaterials in food, compared to the combined influence of sampling, sample preparation prior to imaging and the image analysis. The main conclusion is that to improve the measurement reliability, care should be taken to consider replications and matrix removal prior to sample preparation.
AB - Electron microscopy is a recognized standard tool for nanomaterial characterization, and recommended by the European Food Safety Authority for the size measurement of nanomaterials in food. Despite this, little data have been published assessing the reliability of the method, especially for size measurement of nanomaterials characterized by a broad size distribution and/or added to food matrices. This study is a thorough investigation of the measurement uncertainty when applying electron microscopy for size measurement of engineered nanomaterials in foods. Our results show that the number of measured particles was only a minor source of measurement uncertainty for nanomaterials in food, compared to the combined influence of sampling, sample preparation prior to imaging and the image analysis. The main conclusion is that to improve the measurement reliability, care should be taken to consider replications and matrix removal prior to sample preparation.
U2 - 10.1016/j.foodchem.2014.12.071
DO - 10.1016/j.foodchem.2014.12.071
M3 - Journal article
C2 - 25624258
SN - 0308-8146
VL - 176
SP - 472
EP - 479
JO - Food Chemistry
JF - Food Chemistry
ER -