New Proprietary Particle Size Measurement Method and Single Nano Particle Analyzer from Shimadzu

Shimadzu Scientific Instruments introduces a particle size measurement principle called Induced Grating (IG), which allows users to measure nanoparticles with high sensitivity and reproducibility. Shimadzu’s new IG-1000 particle size analyzer applies the IG method to measure single nanoparticles.

Typical measurement methods use scattered light, which decreases sharply for particles smaller than 100 nm. The IG method eliminates this problem by using optical signals emitted by the diffraction grating formed by the particles. Even in the single nano region, users can obtain a satisfactory signal-to-noise ratio and stable measurement.

Shimadzu’s IG-1000 offers a simple three-step workflow to inject the sample, insert the electrode and begin analysis. Using the IG method, it can measure particles in the 0.5 to 200 nm range in about 30 seconds, from measurement start to displayed results.

The IG method also ensures high reproducibility, which removes the imprecision that comes with particle analysis in the single nano range. Comparison with raw data of diffracted light is possible, so users can perform rough validation of the measurement results easily. The IG method is also resistant to contamination. Even if the sample is mixed with small amounts of foreign particles, data is captured reliably without filtering.

In addition, users can evaluate mixed samples with the IG method because the signal size does not depend on particle size. This is not the case for other methods based on scattered light, which can make the evaluation of mixed samples difficult.