Acquisition of a Nanoparticle Analysis Ensemble

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CTS-0079612Theodore W. RandolphUniversity of ColoradoMRI: Acquisition of a Nanoparticle Analysis EnsembleAbstractThis grant supports the purchase of a group of instruments that provide the capability of analysis and characterization of various types of microparticles and nanoparticles. One instrument , a Quantachrome Autosorb 1-C, is a multipurpose device for determining surface areas and pore-size distributions as well as surface-site properties by gas adsorption/desorption methods. A second, a ZetaPlus, can measure zeta potential on particles from colloidal size up to 30-microns diameter. This device has a phase-analysis light-scattering option that increases the sensitivity of electrophoretic mobility measurements. A third acquisition is an Aerosizer DSP dry powder size analyzer, with supersonic gas entrainment of particles combined with laser optics, which can measure particle-size distributions from 0.2 to 700 microns. The last item in the ensemble is a TSI GEMMA-method size analyzer. This device creates an aerosol of suspended particles, dries the droplets, and then measures mobility of the remaining particles in an electric field. The lower limit on size measurement here corresponds to a protein molecule with molecular weight of 6000.Nanotechnology promises advances in many practical fields. The researchers using these instruments for characterization of nanoparticles are exploring applications in high-temperature synthesis of new ceramic materials, gene therapy, controlled drug delivery, protein stabilization in powders, production and treatment of nanoparticulate materials, and biotechnology. The availability of these highly sensitive measurement instruments increases the accuracy and precision of their observations and enhances the significance of their results.