npSCOPE: A New Multimodal Instrument for In Situ Correlative Analysis of Nanoparticles

Over the last few decades, nanoparticles have become a key element in a number of scientific and technological fields, spanning from materials science to life sciences. The characterization of nanoparticles or samples containing nanoparticles, in terms of morphology, chemical composition, and other parameters, typically involves investigations with various analytical tools, requiring complex workflows and extending the duration of such studies to several days or even weeks. Here, we report on the development of a new unique in situ correlative instrument, allowing us to answer questions about the shape, size, size distribution, and chemical composition of the nanoparticles using a single probe. Combining various microscopic and analytical capabilities in one single instrument allows a considerable increase in flexibility and a reduction in the duration of such complex investigations. The new instrument is based on focused ion beam microscopy technology using a gas field ion source as a key enabler and combining it with specifically developed secondary ion mass spectrometry and scanning transmission ion microscopy technology. We will present the underlying concept, the instrument and its main components, and proof-of-concept studies performed on this novel instrument. For this purpose, different pure titanium dioxide nanoparticle samples were investigated. Furthermore, the distribution and localization of the nanoparticles in biological model systems were studied. Our results demonstrate the performance and usefulness of the instrument for nanoparticle investigations, paving the way for a number of future applications, in particular, nanotoxicological research.