Powder X-ray diffraction unit for the characterization of food and soft materials

粉末x射线衍射仪（XRD）是一种广泛应用于多个学科的仪器。主要用于指纹识别结晶和液晶材料。晶格应变和晶体尺寸也可以用这种技术来研究。在食品科学中，XRD被广泛用于研究食用脂肪的多态性、淀粉和其他多糖聚合物（如纤维素）的结晶度。它还用于研究包装薄膜，其中聚合物的晶体和非晶态的平衡强烈影响包装的机械性能和渗透率。该仪器在学术研究人员中很受欢迎，但工业（国内和国际）对它的需求也很高，因为工业很少/从来没有内部拥有这样的仪器。马兰戈尼实验室被认为是世界上研究食用脂肪和脂肪模拟物的固态结构和纳米结构的主要实验室之一。在这些材料的晶体学方面已经取得了许多进展，使用了2002年用CFI基金购买的Rigaku Multiflex衍射仪。这台仪器现在已经失效了，不再得到理乐的支持。具体来说，仪器中的压力表和流量计损坏，测角仪上的齿轮，即仪器的“心脏”，磨损和松动。因此，不可能再精确地控制角分辨率。这台仪器是马兰戈尼国家科学研究委员会资助的“发现”项目的核心和关键，他所在团队的所有学生、博士后和技术人员都在使用它，更不用说圭尔夫大学的其他所有人也在使用这台机器。我们现在也不能再接受任何工业合同了。这次崩溃发生在9月中旬，是一场严重的“表演中断”。我们也不能支持Pensini、Wright、Rogers Joye、Lim、Keener等人的工作。从积极的方面来看，新的粉末x射线衍射，Miniflex机器，确实是了不起的。首先，这些机器现在是台式机器，大约是原始尺寸的五分之一——大型变压器和哈斯基斯制冷装置都不见了。探测器是超快的，减少了分析时间的1/10的时间，允许动力学过程的研究！该仪器配备了专用的安东帕制冷和加热装置，Rigaku最近增加了一个特殊的镜头，可以在1°2 θ以下进行测量。（近）小角度x射线散射工作现在可以可靠地进行了！所有这些加上用于光谱分析的软件的新进展，使得这台仪器的价格达到了惊人的15万加元。这台新仪器将保证圭尔夫大学食品科学与工程系持续的高生产率和世界级质量的研究项目，将继续帮助支持加拿大食品制造业，并帮助开发未来的食品。

A powder X-ray diffraction (XRD) unit is a widely-used instrument in multiple disciplines. It is mainly used to fingerprint crystalline and liquid crystalline materials. Lattice strain as well as crystallite size can also be studied with this technique. In Food Science, XRD is widely used to study the polymorphism of edible fats, the crystallinity of starch and other polysaccharide polymers, like cellulosics. It is also used in the study of packaging films where the balance of crystalline and amorphous states of polymers strongly influence package mechanical properties and permeability. The instrument is popular among academic researchers, but it is also in very high demand by industry (national and international), since industry rarely/never has such instruments in-house. The Marangoni lab is considered to be one of the main laboratories in the world for the study of the solid-state structure and nanostructure of edible fats and fat mimetics. Many advances in the crystallography of these materials have taken place here, using a Rigaku Multiflex diffractometer purchased with CFI funds in 2002. The intrument has now failed and is not supported by Rigaku any longer. Specifically, the pressure and flow gauges in the instrument are damaged and the gears on the goniometer, the "heart" of the instrument, are worn down and loose. Thus, it is not possible to accurately control angular resolution anymore. This instrument is central and essential to Marangoni's NSERC-funded Discovery program and used by all of the students, post-docs and technicians in his group, not to mention everyone else at the University of Guelph who uses the machine as well. We cannot accept any more industrial contracts at this time either. This breakdown happened in mid September and has been a bit of a serious "show-stopper". We cannot support the work of Pensini, Wright, Rogers Joye, Lim, Keener and others either. On a positive note, the new powder X-ray diffraction, the Miniflex machine, is truly remarkable. First of all, these machines are now benchtop machines about 1/5th of the original size - gone are the large transformers and Haskis refrigeration units. The detectors are ultra-fast, cutting down on analysis time by 1/10th of the time, allowing for the study of the kinetics of processes! The instrument comes with a dedicated Anton Paar cooling and heating unit, and Rigaku has recently added a special lens, allowing measurements to be made below 1 degree 2theta. (Near) small-angle X-ray scattering work can now be reliably carried out! All of this plus new advances in the software used for the analysis of spectra, makes this instrument an amazing deal for CAD$150,000. This new instrument would guarantee the continued high productivity and world-class quality of the research programs in the Departments of Food Science and Engineering at Guelph, would continue help support the Canadian Food Manufacturing Industry, and help develop the foods of the future.