A team of researchers at BRAVE Analytics working with colleagues at the Medical University of Graz and University of Graz (all based in Austria) has developed a measuring method for continuous and time-resolved nanoparticle characterization which has single-particle sensitivity. This method will be implemented in measuring devices for in-production particle characterization and for time-resolved analysis in a laboratory setting.
The research group has published their work in the journal Physical Review Applied, in a paper entitled “Real-Time Nanoparticle Characterization Through Optofluidic Force Induction”.
Christian Hill, whose group led the development project, said: “Although there are reliable and established characterization methods for use in the laboratory, these methods do not provide real-time characterization of nanoparticles, which is drastically gaining relevance in modern production processes. This new method for optical nanoparticle characterization achieves real-time optical counting of particles with single-particle sensitivity from a through-flow of up to 4000 particles per minute.”
Called OptoFluidic Force Induction, OF2i for short, the method exploits optical forces for the manipulation and analysis of particles. “The nanoparticles under investigation are immersed in solution and pumped through a flow cell. A focused laser beam propagates in the flow direction through the flow cell and exerts optical forces on the nanoparticles. These optical forces change the velocity of the particles and allow the determination of number-based particle sizes, particle size distributions and concentration,” reported Marko Šimić, theoretical physicist and leading scientist for the project.
The next steps are implementation of the method in measuring devices and commercialization. “Results confirm that OF2i is capable of real-time monitoring of particle size distributions directly in production processes. The method is highly suitable for high-throughput applications and for particle sizes ranging from tens of nanometers to several micrometers,” summarized Ruth Prassl, co-author and Professor at the Medical University of Graz.
Source: https://en.braveanalytics.eu/