There is a wide range of commercially available particle characterization techniques that can be used to measure particulate samples. Each has its relative strengths and limitations and there is no universally applicable technique for all samples and all situations.
Which particle characterization techniques do I need?
A number of criteria must be considered when deciding which particle characterization techniques you need:
• which particle properties are important to me?
• what particle size range do I want to work over?
• are my samples polydisperse i.e. do I need a wide dynamic range?
• how quickly …

For many particle characterization applications, a particle size distribution provides adequate information about the sample. However, for some applications particle shape can provide more appropriate or complementary information. There are three main categories where this is relevant:
Single particles or agglomerates?
Many particle sizing methods require complete dispersion of any agglomerates in the sample in order to make an appropriate measurement. Being able to view individual images in the dispersion and analyze them in terms of their outline shape allows the user to determine whether or not agglomerates are present and the …

Many customers are not as familiar with automated imaging as a particle characterization technique. Here are three good reasons why you might want to consider automated imaging in addition to your more established techniques such as laser diffraction or microscopy.
Better understanding of particle properties
Automated imaging can provide data on particle size, shape, transparency and chemical identity in one measurement. In contrast to ensemble-based techniques such as laser diffraction, each individual particle in the sample is measured one-by-one, providing high resolution detailed information. This is often used to complement data from …

Another question that quite a few of you asked from the Morphologi G3-ID launch webinar was:
How the instrument uses libraries and what libraries are available?
The answer to the question can really be divided into two sections, the first on how to create and use a library for chemical differentiation, and then secondly how to use third party libraries for chemical identification of unknowns.
Libraries for chemical differentiation
It is a relatively easy task to create libraries from known candidate materials to allow chemical differentiation between particles. This can be done either …

Were very happy to see that many hundreds of you tuned in for the Morphologi G3-ID launch last week. There were so many questions that Debbie and myself were unable to answer them all in the time we had – so the Blog comes to the rescue!
One question that was asked by quite a few people was:
Over what particle size range can the Morphologi G3-ID do chemical ID measurements?
The honest answer to this question is that it all depends upon the sample you are looking at and which objective lens …

One of the more enjoyable aspects of my job is getting out and about and meeting our customers in the flesh. The Malvern UK seminars are the perfect opportunity to do this, and I was glad to be asked to give a presentation on “Trends in instrumentation for particle characterization” at our two events in the south of the UK this week held at the Celtic Manor in Wales ( apparently a prestigious golfing venue for those that enjoy the game) and Ascot Racecourse.
Both events were extremely well attended with …

Having being heavily involved in the global launch of of our Mastersizer 3000 instrument last year, I had my first memorable visit to our headquarters in Shanghai where we trained our applications and sales teams in preparation for the launch. Therefore I was extremely pleased to hear from our Chinese team that the Mastersizer 3000 has been awarded “Best New Instrument of the Year 2011″ by the Annual Conference of China Scientific Instruments 2012 (ACCSI 2012) on 23rd March 2012 in Beijing.

A total of 533 new instruments from 257 companies …

Anyone visiting the Malvern booth at Pittcon will I hope find themselves not only admiring the sleek design of the Mastersizer 3000 laser diffraction particle size analyzer but also looking much further into how this innovative new system streamlines and simplifies the practicalities of particle sizing.
Nowhere is this more evident than in method development, a crucial process for applying any analytical technique that ensures that subsequent measurements are simply a matter of routine. The Mastersizer 3000’s intuitive browser-style software, embedded applications intelligence and real-time feedback on all measurements serve to …

Imagine trying to do anything while experiencing changes in gravity every 25 seconds – from lunar (0.16g), to Martian (0.38g), to near-zero (weightlessness). Now imagine trying to do that non-stop, more than 90 times in a row. Feeling sick at just the thought? Well, that’s why the plane that carries out NASA’s parabolic flights earned the nickname; ‘vomit comet’.
Spraytec measures up
Recently, our very own Spraytec laser diffraction droplet size measurement system was shown to be robust enough to handle everything the infamous ‘vomit comet’ could put it through and still …

The importance of quality ingredients was made very apparent to me recently when I added some milk I had accidentally left out of the fridge to my morning cup of tea. The sour, metallic taste that resulted returns to my mouth just at the memory.
Appropriate analysis required!
Particle size analysis of raw materials is often a necessary but routine task where speed and efficiency are critical to decision-making and the smooth operation of a manufacturing process. Additionally, regulatory agencies place a high significance on the characterization and validation of raw materials …