Detection and fate of engineered nanoparticles in aquatic systems.

The proliferation of nanotechnology has prompted discussions over the safety of these materials to human health and the environment as their environmental fate and impact is widely unknown. This is partly due to the lack of suitable analytical techniques to detect and characterise engineered nanoparticles in the environment. This thesis aims to provide a better understanding of the environmental fate of engineered nanoparticles by developing analytical methods suitable for nanoparticle analysis in aquatic systems and employing these to laboratory-based environmental fate studies.