4 Novel Particle Size Analysis and Digital Image Analysis Combined


Sirius Analytical Instruments Ltd have announced the introduction of a new product to address the challenging area of particle size and shape analysis. This complements their existing product range and expertise in solubility and dissolution analysis.


The Sirius Insight combines two powerful tools for measuring particle size and shape. Using laser obscuration technology, optical model and parameter free measurements of particle size can be made from wet and dry dispersions. Particle size is measured on individual particles without assuming particle shape. This gives highly meaningful and robust measurements of size.


The instrument incorporates a second measurement channel which enables digital image analysis of the same particle population to generate up to 40 different shape parameters. This analysis gives important understanding of particle morphology and how it can influence product and process performance.


Brian Stockton, Product Manager for the Sirius Insight explained: “Particle sizing presents many challenges to the analyst and during 15 years of working with particle size analysis I have actively sought new approaches to mitigate many of these challenges.


Insight now presents a new opportunity to overcome issues of reproducibility and artefacts associated with other techniques. Increased information content is provided through the addition of an imaging channel which enables size data to be validated and gives access to many more particle parameters which will help us understand our particles better.”


John Comer, Chief Scientific Officer of Sirius Analytical, added: "At Sirius, we have a long history of scientific expertise in the field of solution-based physical chemistry property measurements. As we have become more established in the realm of investigating amorphous and crystalline solids through our CheqSol solubility and Gastrointestinal Dissolution work, our customers have expressed a desire to better understand the properties of their APIs and formulations in the solid form, with the shape and size of particles being a fundamental parameter. I am confident that the Sirius Insight is versatile and innovative enough to meet the well-known challenges our customers routinely face in this notoriously difficult space.”


LAB PRODUCTS MORE INFO. 515


Borosilicate Glassware for Laboratory Applications


The Kavalier glassworks is the oldest specialised manufacturer of laboratory and technical glass in Europe. All glass parts are made of borosilicate glass 3.3 – Simax brand. This type of borosilicate glass is characterised by a high chemical resistence, low coefficient of linear thermal expansivity and thus a high resistence against temperature changes. Owing to its properties, Simax glass is used in such areas where the highest demands are made of products from a viewpoint of heat and chemical stability as well as neutrality to substances or preparations contacting them, such as, in chemistry, petro- chemistry, food, power supply, metallurgy, health service, microbiology, pharmaceuticals, mechanical engineering and laboratories.


Simax tubing, rods, profiles and capillary tubes are used in the production of laboratory glassware, industrial apparatus, pilot plant, pipe lines, drainage, decorative glass, solar collectors, light fittings, to name but a few. Products made from Simax glass are smooth and nonporous, transparent, corrosion-resistant even in exacting operations, sufficiently homogeneous and without presence of heterogenous particles.


LAB PRODUCTS MORE INFO. 516


Krypton Light Source for VIS-NIR Applications


The ecoVis is a compact, low-voltage light source (400-2500nm) from Ocean Optics with built-in cuvette holder that’s ideal for basic lab measurements in teaching labs and other research environments.


The ecoVis has a rugged solid alloy housing that helps to dissipate heat and in-line fibre ports for absorbance and fluorescence measurements.


The ecoVis is small – it’s just 95mm x 50mm and weighs 265g – making it attractive for labs where space is at a premium. The light source has an integrated cuvette holder with 1cm pathlength and a versatile chromium-plated reflective insert that increases the output for fluorescence, holds the cuvette securely in place and can be adjusted through 90º to block the light path for dark measurements.


The ecoVis is designed for absorbance and fluorescence of cuvette-based samples. Its rugged housing and simple design make it useful for teaching labs and setups where basic absorbance and fluorescence measurements are performed routinely.


SPECTROSCOPY MORE INFO. 517


Report on the use of Tip Assisted Optics to Characterise Biomolecular Hydrogels


CIC biomaGUNE is a non-profit research organisation created in 2006 to promote scientific research and technological innovation at the highest levels in the Basque Country. Dr Ralf Richter leads Laboratory 3 in the Biosurfaces Research Unit applying a number of techniques for surface nanostructure characterisation and biofunctionalisation to guide the assembly of molecules down to the nanometer-scale.


For this characterisation, his group has developed a toolbox of biophysical in-situ techniques including a quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation monitoring (QCM-D), atomic force microscopy (AFM), reflection interference contrast microscopy (RICM), ellipsometry and fluorescence methods. The current research work is centred on biomolecular hydrogels, a broad class of materials that are produced in the human body or by other bioorganisms.


Dr Richter's group develops methods to re-create these specialised natural hydrogels through the controlled assembly from their molecular components in vitro. Functionalised surfaces are used to guide the self-assembly process.


While AFM is used to obtain nanoscale topographic information about the self-assembled architecture of the materials created, AFM is also used to quantify the mechanical properties of these hydrogels. Dr Richter explained: "We employ colloidal probe AFM. When analysing polymer films, a fundamental problem in colloidal probe AFM experiments is to determine the distance at closest approach between the probe and the substrate on which the film is deposited. In a study published earlier this year (Attili & Richter, Langmuir, 2012, 28:3206) we have overcome this problem by combining optical interferometry (RICM) and AFM in situ.


With the combined setup, forces and absolute distances between substrate and probe can be measured at the same time. Thanks to its tip-assisted optics (TAO™) module and the integration of high-resolution optical microscopy, the combination of RICM and AFM can be readily setup with the JPK NanoWizard®


system. By using our toolbox of techniques, we are able to combine their results to produce a very detailed picture about the physico- chemical properties and dynamics of the films of interest."


He continued: "I have worked with NanoWizard systems since 2005. The combination of high resolution optical and atomic force microscopy is critical for the combination of AFM and RICM. Here, the tip-assisted optics (TAO) module is also very useful. It keeps the colloidal probe in the centre of the optical image, while probing different spots on the same surface."


MICROSCOPY MORE INFO. 518


LABMATE UK & IRELAND - JANUARY 2013


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