Pioneer in ultrasonic analytical technology, Ultrasonic Scientific will make its conference debut following the launch of its new ultrasonic spectrometer
Winner of the Silver Award for best new product PittCon 2002 and a R and D100 winner for Technological Innovation, these products which will be showcased on the booth, have major relevance to the hydrocolloid community, and to the food industry.
Ultrasonic spectroscopy offers a revolutionary new technique for material analysis.
The high-resolution ultrasonic spectrometer (HR-US) is a powerful tool for the characterisation of the surfactant and the analysis of processes involving surfactants.
For example the spectrometer can easily measure the point of CMC (critical micelle concentration), and give structural information on the micelles formed.
In more complex systems such as polymer-surfactant and surfactants in colloids, it gives information on: internal-and macroscopic structure of complexes, particle size, colloids stability, kinetic of phase separation, CAC (critical aggregation concentration) and binding constants. This technique is based on the measurements of velocity and attenuation on acoustical waves at high, ultrasonic frequencies propagating through materials.
Optical transparency is not required as ultrasonic waves propagate through opaque systems, thereby making the technique relevant for non- transparent as well as transparent samples.
The spectrometer allows the monitoring of a range of chemical reactions, such as enzymatic reactions in a wide range of systems including optically opaque systems without the need for dilution or optical markers. Processes such as coagulation, gelation and the precursors to such processes can also be monitored in food systems like milk, protein solutions, etc, without the need for sample preparation such as dilution.
The HR-US 102 spectrometer offers a wide range of measuring regimes, these are, kinetic regime (ideal for monitoring processes such as gelation, sedimentation), temperature ramp regime (for analysis of phase transitions and thermal stability), titration regime (binding reaction, pH induced processes etc) and multifrequency regime (for particle sizing and detailed composition analysis).
The 2003 International Conference on Food Hydrocolloids takes place in Malta from 30 March to 1 April 2003.
