A simplified method for determining titanium from TiO2 nanoparticles in fish tissue with a concomitant multi-element analysis.

The reliable detection of nanoparticles (NPs) in fish tissue is required to support ecotoxicological research and food safety investigations. Therefore the current work aimed to develop a simple method to determine Ti from TiO2 NPs in fish tissue whilst simultaneously measuring other elements in the sample. Spike recovery tests showed no differences when digestion was conducted in glass or plastic vials, there was stirring or sonication of the samples, or when sodium dodecyl sulfate was added. However, the addition of 2% Triton X-100 and sonicating and then vortexing of samples immediately prior to analysis did improve recovery (approximately 20% to >90% in trout gill and muscle samples). Method precision and accuracy were good with coefficients of variation <7%. Copper spike recovery results showed that the method is also suitable for multi-element analysis in the same samples. This improved method is simple with high throughput and represents a marked improvement for routine determination Ti from TiO2 NPs in fish tissues.