Application of gold nanoparticles embedded in the amyloids fibrils as enhancers in the laser induced breakdown spectroscopy for the metal quantification in microdroplets

Highlights: • LIBS analysis of metals by employing AuNPs embedded in the amyloids fibrils • Detection limits at sub-ppm (mg/kg) level on microdroplets • Investigation of NELIBS performances on biological systems -- Abstract: In this work Nanoparticle Enhanced Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (NELIBS) has been employed for quantitative metal detection using amyloid fibrils coated with gold nanoparticles as enhancers. Amyloid fibrils represent, from one hand, an extremely interesting system for novel technologies, ranging from water purification to medical applications, and on the other hand, an ideal system for investigating the performance of laser-matter interaction in biological systems. The results obtained in this work show the potentiality of NELIBS for the quantification at sub-ppm (mg/kg) level of metallic elements (Cr, Pb, Tl and Cd) even in the protein and/or biological environment, employing amyloid fibrils with gold nanoparticles. Moreover, the single-shot measurements reveal the promising use of this technique in applications where high sensitivity and/or limitation in the sample amount are demanded.