The Mastersizer 2000 particle size analyser from Malvern Instruments is being used across multiple applications in the School of Natural Sciences at Trinity College Dublin, Ireland.
The analyser is used by a number of different research groups, with projects ranging from particle sizing in marine sediments to the investigation of storm drains - and even analysing dust from the university library.
Dr Robin Edwards, senior lecturer in Earth sciences, said the Mastersizer 2000 provides a readily reproducible and automated approach to particle sizing.
'We chose the Mastersizer 2000 because of its reputation, its broad measurement range and the fact that it is used internationally by many institutions, which assists sample comparability,' said Dr Edwards.
'For example, before purchasing our own system, we ran samples on a Mastersizer 2000 at the National Oceanography Centre in Southampton.
'When we analysed the same samples on our own system we found agreement with the original data.
'Automation is also a key factor and we use the system's autosampler for virtually every run,' he added.
For most of the sediment-based applications, the research teams are interested in broad classifications, while in some marine applications particular size classes are diagnostic.
The Mastersizer is a laser diffraction system designed for a wide range of research and industry applications.
It has a measurement range of 0.02 to 2,000 microns, easily interchanged dispersion units for wet and dry analysis and a user-configurable software interface.
Standard operating procedure (SOP) driven analysis provides full automation and facilitates method transfer.
