Articles Archive for July 2011

Through this blog you will find postings that talk about how particle size influences product quality: the bioavailability of a drug; the stability of a paint; and the mouth feel of chocolate; for example. Many manufacturing sectors monitor and control particle size to reach product quality goals, and focusing on product performance is clearly critical.
Reading through a recent article though,  ‘Considerations for Steering Particle Size’, by Roger A. Barnum and James K. Prescott of Jenike & Johanson, Inc, I was reminded of a closely related but somewhat separate reason for …

What do the following three statements have in common?
Reading in dim lighting will ruin your eyes.
Eating turkey makes you sleepy because it contains tryptophan.
Dynamic light scattering analysis is not suitable for samples that contain aggregated or agglomerated materials.
These three statements all share the fact that they are myths. Untruths.  Poppycock.
I enjoy watching a particular television show with my children called Myth Busters.  On the show, the cast tackle what are considered to be common—and sometimes uncommon—beliefs in order to either confirm them or “bust” them.  The show’s hosts go about …

My eye was recently drawn to an interesting piece of research from Melbourn Scientific, in the first instance, I have to admit, because it was adorned with a beautiful shot of our Spraytec laser diffraction analyzer!
The article is about the attractions and challenges of formulating thixotropic nasal sprays but more generally it provides some useful information about the analytical techniques that can help to accelerate nasal spray development.
The benefits of thixotropy
Thixotropic substances are gel-like when stationary but have very low viscosity when subject to shear. Its easy to appreciate that …

Hi, my name is Bernd Schaefer and I’m the technical specialist in Germany for Malvern’s separations products, which basically means I’m responsible for the Viscotek Gel Permeation/Size Exclusion Chromatography (GPC/SEC) systems.
Like many people I spent time last weekend shopping for food. With my work in mind at one point, it occurred to me during my culinary excursion to marvel at just how many food products contain polymers; natural polymers such as starches, carrageenans, alginates and of course proteins. As a technical specialist, I receive many of these sorts of samples …

Beyond discussions of the relative merits of different dry powder dispersion systems for particle size analysis, a topic in which I have more than a passing interest, there lies the more fundamental question of whether there are physical limits to dry powder dispersion.
In laser diffraction analysis dry dispersion is the preferred sample preparation method – its quick, simple and there is no requirement for dispersant. But for some materials the challenge of dispersion without particle damage seems insurmountable. Is it, or do we simply need better technology?
Malvern has a long-standing …

At Malvern we take customer support very seriously and are always looking to improve the level and range of service that we provide. As Product Manager for After Sales it’s part of my job to find out whether we’re getting it right. We offer services that we believe meet our customers’ needs, but how can we be certain?
Monthly surveys
To try and answer that question, around two years ago we began to conduct monthly satisfaction surveys. Any customer who has received an on-site visit from one of our engineers in the …

Here in the UK, the Government’s recent decisions to become the first country in the world to impose a carbon floor price and to commit to a 50% reduction in CO2 emissions (relative to 1990 figures) by 2025, have met with mixed reviews.
Seen by many as encouragement for the nuclear industry, the decisions are also good news for the burgeoning green technology sector. On the other hand, well-established industries that are by necessity energy-intensive remain less than enthusiastic despite reassurances of protection.
Seismic shifts, continuous evolution
For the processing industries, rising energy …

For most people, ice cream is a staple requirement of the summer days now upon us, even better when served in a cone on a sunny beach. Europeans have eaten ice cream out of paper cases, seashells, and the edible cones we are now so familiar with, for at least 150 years. However, in the US, the ice cream cone’s inception can probably be traced back to the 1904 World’s Fair in St Louis, Missouri. Popular belief has it that a stallholder selling waffles stepped in to help an ice …