Articles Archive for May 2011

I’m very keen on electric bikes. In fact, I’ve built my own folding electric bike so I can easily put it in the back of the car. They seem like a cheat, but you can put in as much effort as you want, and it is much more pleasant to be sitting up and viewing the countryside than hunched sweating over the handlebars of a bike in the gym.
Battery technology is improving, with solid state technologies offering novel packaging methods, using sachets of chemicals rather than metal cans to reduce …

Hi – let me introduce myself – I’m Debbie Huck, Product Specialist – Morphological Imaging Systems.
As my title suggests I deal with analytical results with visual impact; images of particles that statistically quantify size, shape and, with the Morphologi G3-ID, chemical identity too. A big part of my role is to help customers get the most out of imaging technology which is a pretty rewarding thing to do. Automated imaging is a technique with instant ‘wow’ factor and the more people I introduce to imaging the clearer view I have …

The regular re-fuelling of our cars nudges many people’s ‘green’ conscience, reminding us of the energy we consume simply going about our daily business. Not to mention the financial cost of what flows from the pump.
Whether to conserve world resources, minimise climate change or reduce the cost per mile, fuel efficiency is a big issue and one that the automotive industry continues to address.
Injecting some science
At the heart of the engine lies the combustion chamber where atomised fuel burns to produce energy. Today direct fuel injectors are the norm. These …

Choice – a mantra of politicians and an expectation in our every purchasing decision – whether we’re buying a sugar rush, a new gadget or the latest analytical equipment. Having a choice is great but it brings with it the responsibility of getting the decision right. How irritating to find that you’d have made a different decision if you’d simply had the right information in front of you at the time.
When choosing was easy….
In the early days of gel permeation chromatography / size exclusion chromatography (GPC/SEC) life used to be …

While I always find engagement with the inhalation community both interesting and inspirational, my recent trip to the latest Respiratory Drug Delivery® conference RDD Europe 2011 in Berlin on 3-6 May proved a real highlight. Our workshop on nasal sprays was well-received and I attended a couple of excellent talks that provided some food for thought.
Compliant patients…
… are not a given, in fact, non-compliance, for a diverse number of reasons, is a well-recognised and costly problem in the treatment of respiratory illnesses with inhaled drug products. On Wednesday evening, after …

Greetings! Over the last decades I have been involved in nanometrics – the characterization of nanosized objects, from small molecules, proteins & antibodies to the mesoscale. We may have crossed paths already on one of my frequent Webex presentations, recorded powerpoints (the most popular of mine is the “Dynamic Light Scattering primer”, followed closely by “Protein Characterization” ) or on youtube.
DLS still rising
The use of dynamic light scattering (DLS) as an almost standard technique in pharmaceutical research is still gaining popularity. Is  it really a surprise? While there are some …

When I was asked to consult on a research paper written about geology, by geologists, I didn’t imagine at the time that it might be well worth a read for anyone working with materials characterization…
…or that I’d ever get the opportunity to use such a cheesy headline!
Characterization in Earth science
However, despite its highly niche title, ‘Size dependent comminution, tectonic mixing, and sealing behaviour of a “structurally oversimplified” fault zone in poorly lithified sands: Evidence for coseismic rupture?’, by F. Balsamo and F. Storti from the Dipartimento di Scienze Geologiche, Universita …

As rheologists working in a company that excels in materials characterization technology we are in a strong position to explore the links between particle properties and rheological behaviour. This blog is the first in a series that mines a seam discussed in greater detail in the whitepaper: ’10 ways to control rheology by changing particle properties’ .
The focus for today is how to manipulate particle size to influence viscosity.
First the theory…
For a suspension with a fixed concentration of solids the number of particles present is directly proportional to their size. …

As Materials Talks continues to grow, more of us at Malvern have the opportunity to welcome you into our discussions. I’m Rob Norris, Business Manager for Malvern’s Process Systems, so I’m particularly interested in any processing experience that you would like to share. My team applies Malvern’s analytical expertise in the form of rugged systems that measure in real time, within the industrial environment.
Why go on-line?
Across all manufacturing sectors there is a significant increase in the need for process analytical systems, and this requires technologies to move from lab to line. …

As Product Group Manager here at Malvern Instruments, my portfolio of responsibilities includes products designed to characterize a wide range of materials and formulations, from complex colloids to natural and synthetic polymers including proteins. These products include Malvern’s Zetasizer family of light scattering systems and the Viscotek size exclusion chromatography (SEC) range.
Also referred to as gel permeation chromatography (GPC), SEC is a form of liquid chromatography used for the separation of macromolecules. It is a useful technique for both protein and polymer science and here at Malvern we are continuing …