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Nanodroplets: a new method for dried spot preparation and analysis
Author(s) -
Miller Thomasin C.,
Havrilla George J.
Publication year - 2004
Publication title -
x‐ray spectrometry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.447
H-Index - 45
eISSN - 1097-4539
pISSN - 0049-8246
DOI - 10.1002/xrs.710
Subject(s) - spots , repeatability , dried blood , sample preparation , chromatography , sample (material) , instrumentation (computer programming) , analytical chemistry (journal) , materials science , deposition (geology) , nanotechnology , chemistry , computer science , paleontology , sediment , biology , operating system
Abstract The dried spot technique is an effective method for elemental analysis. However, the current technology, using microliter volume spots, suffers from lack of repeatability and long sample preparation times. In this study, a new nanoliter dried spot sample preparation method was developed and tested. Drying time, drying pattern and detection limits were compared between spots formed from microliter‐ and nanoliter‐sized droplets. This new nanoliter deposition method reproducibly produced uniform spots. The sample throughput was increased significantly with nanoliter droplet drying times ranging from only seconds to minutes. The minimum detectable concentrations for the nanoliter spots were in the ppb range with the ability to detect picogram‐level masses. This new sample preparation method has the potential for use in situations where sample availability is limited. Furthermore, nanoliter dried spots are smaller in diameter than the exciting x‐ray beam in micro‐XRF and conventional XRF instrumentation. This allows faster drying nanoliter droplet microarrays to be used in situations where microliter droplets are primarily used. Published in 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.