Malvern Instruments has released an application note describing a method for automating measurement of size and shape of micron-scale beads for sensors, medical device and chromatography applications.
The application note, entitled 'Characterising the Monodispersity of Beads Using the Morphologi G3' is free to download at the company's website.
Careful control of bead size and shape is critically important in a range of applications including material fabrication.
The presence of misshapen or fused beads may lead to problems with product performance.
Using Malvern's Morphologi G3 particle characterisation system, automated measurements can be performed more quickly than with manual microscopy and are not subject to the same operator variability.
Monodisperse spherical beads will pack in a way that results in a fairly well-defined network of pores, which can be exploited in sensing applications.
For example, a medical sensing device can depend on agglomeration of a protein to give a positive result.
In this case, the agglomerated protein will not pass through the channels.
A negative result is obtained when there is no agglomeration and no sample retention.
The presence of fines in the packing material can block these pores and render the device unreliable by causing retention of smaller particles.
The Morphologi G3 combines microscopy and image analysis to measure the size, shape and intensity of particles from 0.5-10,000mm.
It captures and stores images of every particle examined.
Its software enables users to transform data into useful information with just a few mouse clicks, allowing them to make decisions quickly and with confidence.
The Morpholgi G3 particle characterisation system is ideally suited to determining the quality and monodispersity of micron-sized beads as well as identifying non-spherical particles.
By analysing shape as well as size, Malvern said the Morphologi G3 adds a new dimension to the usefulness of particle characterisation data.
The system is automated, intuitive to use and requires little sample preparation.
