Articles Archive for August 2011

I think, like most people, that I have a bit of a conservative streak when it comes to upgrading software on my PC. In general I just want my computer to work. If I change my software then I don’t want to have to spend days relearning how to use it or getting my desktop back the way I want it.
This train of thought leads me on to considering the new software release for the Morphologi G3, our fully automated image analysis system that delivers particle size and shape data …

Laser diffraction is now such a ubiquitous particle sizing technique that I think its intricacies and power are sometimes simply taken for granted. I hope you’ll indulge me then when I point you towards a new publication in the August issue of American Laboratory written by two of my colleagues Carl Levoguer and Paul Kippax.
‘Laser diffraction: a firm foundation for particle characterization’ looks at the need to measure particle size, introduces laser diffraction and examines its evolution as a particle sizing technique. The authors also indulge in a bit of …

I have always found it fascinating that in the US dark chocolate is often referred to as hard chocolate, because milk chocolate is actually much harder than hard chocolate. It seems softer because it has a lower melting point, just below body temperature, which gives it a softer mouthfeel.
Using rheology to characterize chocolate
The tools of rheology  provide an excellent way of analyzing and characterizing the fundamental material properties of chocolate relating to its manufacture, storage and (most importantly of all in my opinion) eating experience. Smoothness, viscosity, and cohesiveness are …

I encounter many different types of colloid and nanoparticle applications in my routine interactions with customers and we are often asked to analyze such samples for our customers and prospective customers.  The range of potential applications for these nanomaterials is truly astounding.
Time and again it has been shown that analyzing metal nanoparticles such as colloidal silver and colloidal gold, using dynamic light scattering and electrophoretic light scattering techniques, helps researchers get a handle on important control parameters such as size, coating/functionalization and stability behavior.
It was with great interest, then, I …

The old adage “Prevention is better than cure!” has always been especially pertinent within the pharmaceutical industry, and these days it applies as much to the manufacturer as to the patient!
A recent article in the Wall Street Journal highlights a spate of FDA warning letters and recalls resulting from particulate contamination of pharmaceutical products. This story illustrates the benefits of having effective quality monitoring tools in place throughout the manufacturing process.
It happens to the best of them
Following a contamination incident it can be exceedingly difficult to ensure a quick and …

My colleague Paul Kippax was asked recently to contribute to an article for Pharmaceutical Technology about particle characterization, so it was with some interest that I turned to the finished piece, published last month. ‘The Power of Particle Characterization’ is a nice review that focuses on two key points: the importance of particle characterization for this industry (which explains the title I guess) and the development of techniques that can deliver the necessary information – a process that continues today.
Data to drive pharmaceutical development
Whether an active pharmaceutical particle is inhaled, …

Having thought recently about polymers present in the food I buy, it was only a short step to considering that my shopping basket also contained a great variety of polymers in terms of packaging materials. Even the reusable shopping bags I prefer to use nowadays, usually contain considerable amounts of synthetic polymers.
Polymers in packaging
Food packaging solutions are rapidly becoming more sophisticated with options that can be re-sealable, stand-up or hermetically sealed. They also must deliver to a wider range of user and food safety demands such as the need to be …

So the Malvern people are going to show up tomorrow morning to demonstrate their Zetasizer Nano… “Is there anything I should get ready for it?” you ask. Well, not really. We’ll bring along the instrument, a laptop with the latest software, all cables and cuvettes – and a simple standard sample. All that is required is a small section of your lab bench space, about one foot for the instrument and another for the laptop. Some clean water and a waste container may be of use, if we get to …

For anyone out there who may think rheology is a stressful topic (pun intended), I’d like to share a few visual treats I came across recently.
A video trail
The first in my recommended online viewings is a set of videos on the website of Xion Protective Gear, a company put together by stuntmen in the Netherlands: http://www.stuntpadding.com/. On the home page you will find several entertaining demos and I defy anyone to sit through them without cringing at least once and laughing twice as much.
Those of you who explore a little …