Scientists at Malvern Instruments have presented experimental protocols for measuring hydrodynamic particle diameters of less than 1nm, with a precision of 0.1nm in a paper published in the Journal of Nanoparticle Research.
The work was carried out using a Malvern Zetasizer particle characterisation system, which uses dynamic light scattering (DLS) for particle size measurement. Its optical configuration, comprising a highly sensitive detector in combination with an optimised fibre optic configuration, was a critical factor in the exceptional sensitivity achieved.
The results, which took sucrose as the model material, show that very precise, verifiable sub-nanometre measurements are now possible.
DLS analyses time-dependent fluctuations in the intensity of scattered laser light to measure the diffusion coefficient and size of particles. This research shows that, with careful sample preparation and an appropriate optical configuration the Zetasizer Nano S accurately measures particle sizes at the sub nanometre scale.
Malvern Instruments says these results are highly significant for current and future applications requiring quality control of small molecules.
