Izon Science today launched
a major software and methods upgrade to provide significant advances in automation
and accuracy for its qNano and qViro nanoparticle characterisation instruments.
The enhanced automation allows users to more easily use the tunable nanoparticle
analysis tools to measure and characterise particles with a high degree of accuracy.
Standard methods for particle size and particle concentration measurement using
accurate calibration particles are now available as default options. The combined
measurement of concentration and size allows for the concentration of individual
particle size fractions to be obtained with a quick and accurate procedure.
"Izon has developed the world's most advanced nanoparticle analysis system.
Now it's faster and simpler to use and demonstrably very accurate. It's a disruptive
technology and rapidly changing the way nanoparticle analysis is done,"
says Hans van der Voorn, Chairman of Izon.
Izon's sophisticated platform is based on combined pressure and electrophoretic
force being applied to particles so they can be accurately measured and analysed
as they pass through a single pore in a membrane. The qNano and qViro instruments
provide information on several particle parameters on an individual particle
basis to give the most comprehensive picture of particles of any system available.
Users have the ability to vary pressure, electrophoretic force, and nanopore
size in real time to extract detailed information on particle concentration,
electrophoretic mobility, particle by particle size, and aggregation kinetics
in a wide range of pH and electrolyte environments.
Izon's tunable nanopore technology can be used alongside or instead of dynamic
light scattering (DLS) technology, which is the traditional technique used by
many researchers. Van der Voorn says, "The Izon platform has been shown
to more accurately measure mixed particle solutions than standard electron microscopy
and therefore provides a quantum leap in measurement accuracy and reliability
over older techniques like DLS. The technology is also much more compact and
simpler to build so costs substantially less than any of the other commonly
used systems."
The enhanced functionality of Izon's nanoparticle analysis system combined
with its ease of use is resulting in a wide range of new users and novel research
in a number of nanoparticle related fields.
"We will be running a series of webinars to show customers through the
new software, outline the new functionality, and enable interaction with the
Izon development team so they can ask questions on how the new functionality
can be applied to their research projects," says Van der Voorn.
Izon's technology has been taken up by a range of leading research institutes
including University of Oxford, University of Nottingham, University of Melbourne,
Dublin City University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, University of
California Santa Cruz, Johns Hopkins University, Ian Wark Institute, NIST, Australian
Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology, ATCC, Max Planck Institute,
CSIRO, MacDiarmid Institute, University of Auckland, University of Canterbury,
National Measurement Institute of Australia, Victoria University of Wellington,
and Harvard Medical School.
Current projects include detailed engineering and optimisation of diagnostic
assays and drug delivery systems, QA of particle functionalisation, nanoparticle
charge measurement, measurement and analysis of exosomes and other nanovesicles,
including directly in plasma, particle concentration analysis, accurate characterisation
of complex engineered nanoparticle systems, and virus quantitation and analysis.