Abstract
Growing interest in the environmental and health effects of engineered nanostructured materials requires accurate control of cluster morphology and size in order to make valid interpretations of nanomaterial toxicity. We report the comparison of three methods for the generation of aggregated uniform polystyrene latex (PSL) nanospheres from a colloidal suspension. Atomization, ultrasonic generation and electrospray, which utilize distinct mechanisms for the formation of liquid droplets from a PSL colloidal suspension, are explored as potential methods for nanostructured material synthesis. Electrospray produced isolated PSL particles most suited for use in experiments involving exposure to non-aggregated nanoparticles. Though producing the largest cluster size, ultrasonic generation proved to be a relatively straightforward process for reproducibly generating nanoparticle aggregates. Further advantages and disadvantages of each method are presented in relation to future toxicology experiments.
