An easy-to-read guide with a focus on particle size and particle shape analysis.
Understanding particles can lead to better products, smoother processes, and regulatory peace of mind.
The guide covers the basics of particle characterization, highlighting their principles and applications:
laser diffraction
dynamic light scattering
automated imaging
electrophoretic light scattering
rheology
Even if you aren't new to particle characterization, download this guide for a quick refresher.

In this comprehensive guide to particle size analysis, we explore the fundamental concepts, measurement techniques, and statistical considerations involved in characterizing the sizes of particles.
You'll get to know:
various techniques, highlighting their advantages, disadvantages, and applications
different types of mean diameters and how they are calculated and interpreted
how to choose the appropriate technique for your own applications

Progressing drug development without fully understanding the structure and stability of polymorph variants can quickly lead to potential safety, efficacy or quality issues. Gaps in polymorph profiling can also lead to ambiguity in patent applications, which can have disastrous consequences even years into a drug product’s lifecycle.
A clear understanding of an API and all its forms – through solid form analysis – could improve the chances of regulatory approval, decrease the time required to get a drug product to market, and protect potential revenues.
This guide explores the use of XRPD as a powerful tool to:
· Develop and improve pharmaceutical formulations
· Ensure quality standards are met throughout the drug development workflow
Download the full guide to find out more.

Catalytic converters are designed to remove toxic gases and pollutants from car exhaust gases. Therefore, they contain the precious metals Pt, Pd and Rh. When the car reaches end of life the converter is scrapped. The precious metals are recovered in a recycling chain comprising several different stakeholders, from scrap yards to toll refineries. Due to their high value, accurate analysis and processing of the precious metal content is critical to ensure a maximum return in recycling.
This application note shows a safe, easy and accurate method for providing data giving full insight into the composition of the to-be-processed converter.
You can read the application note here.

Grow your knowledge. Build robust structures.
Metal Organic Frameworks (MOFs) are a huge research area, so we’re excited that our research techniques can play a part. Our instruments can be used for detailed crystallographic analysis using X-ray diffraction to track changes under different operating conditions in real time.
Or they can be used for physical characterization of manufactured MOF materials, in applications including:
Fluid separation
Gas sensors
Fuel storage
Catalysis
Water purification
Drug delivery
Download the brochure here

The stability of a colloidal sample will vary with pH, and as such, pH titrations are a common experiment to assess these changes and to determine over which pH ranges a sample is stable (or not).
The MPT-3 Multi-purpose Titrator for the new Zetasizer Advance range, allows the user to do this. In addition to traditional size or zeta potential measurements across the pH range of choice, the MPT-3 allows the user to unlock a greater understanding of their samples by setting up pH titrations in different ways.
These are discussed below. :
Measurements Within a pH Titration
Multiple Titrations
Plotting pH Titration Data

As anyone in these industries knows, getting your formulation right is key to delivering the perfect paint, the cleverest coating, or the most luxurious laundry detergent. Our Chemicals and Coatings expert discusses the latest chemicals and coatings innovation, the importance of using the best components and understanding your formulation, and how our solutions are helping to drive sustainability in chemicals and coatings manufacture.
What are the main challenges and opportunities in today’s chemicals and coatings industry?
How does Malvern Panalytical help customers address these challenges and capitalize on the opportunities in the market?
What do you think is the biggest trend emerging in the chemicals and coatings world right now?
How do you ensure that your solutions live up to the environmental, social, and governance (ESG) expectations that today’s stakeholders demand?
What does the future look like for chemicals and coatings?
You can read the full review here

Compound semiconductor functionality is all about the layer structure. But unlike a cake, it’s rare that you wish to slice up your wafer to see what is going on inside.
Fortunately, though, in this instance you can turn to metrology technologies, such as X-ray diffractometry (XRD), to generate accurate and precise structural metrology in a non-destructive manner. Here, advanced capabilities beyond the rocking curves are becoming ever more important for the production of epitaxial wafers.
Read the article

Have you recently published some outstanding research using one or more of our instruments? If the answer’s yes, we want to hear from you!
Our 2022 Scientific Award is now open!
The award aims to support young scientists’ careers and promote excellence in applying analytical solutions.
We hope the program will give you a valuable opportunity to get your research recognized more widely.

Wall Colmonoy is a leading global materials engineering group of companies engaged in the manufacturing of brazing products, precision castings, coatings, and engineered components across aerospace, automotive, oil & gas, mining, energy and other industrial sectors.
In this case study, we learn about how they improving their metal powder products and manufacturing processes using automated imaging.

In recent years, additive manufacturing (AM) has evolved from a prototyping tool to a still new, but established and economically viable choice for component production. Annual sales of metal AM machines have grown from fewer than 200 in 2012 to almost 2,300 in 2018 as the aerospace, energy, automotive, medical, and tooling industries have embraced the technology.
The use of AM in manufacturing is driving growth in the market segment dedicated to metal materials – which is expected to account for a quarter of the market by 2023.
Download the Whitepaper to find out more.

We present the use of Multi-angle Dynamic Light Scattering (MADLS®) for the measurement of nanoparticle concentration. We describe the theory of the method and its application to nanoparticles made of gold, silica and polystyrene, with diameters ranging
from 30 to 400 nm, and demonstrate some of the limitations with particles of sizes 500 nm and above.
We evaluate the method accuracy, linearity and reproducibility, as well as the operational nanoparticle concentration and size range. We show that the concentration working range depends on the material’s optical properties, size and concentration. Here it is shown that the level of accuracy that can be expected for the concentration of particles is typically within 50% of the nominal value across a range of materials and sizes and, for some samples, within 20%.
The repeatability of the measurements, in terms of relative standard deviation, is typically below 30%. A linearity of within 40% across a concentration range of 3·108 to 2·1011 mL−1 for concentration measurements was also demonstrated by using gold nanoparticles and gravimetric dilutions for method validation.
Overall, we show that MADLS® is a rapid and straightforward method for the reproducible measurement of particle concentration, as well as size, requiring minimal sample preparation, without the need to calibrate using a pre-determined concentration series, and applicable to a broad range of materials. These features make it an ideal tool to support both the development and quality control of particle materials for a broad range of applications.

Gel permeation chromatography (GPC) is at the heart of polymer characterization. This characterization technique is implemented throughout the life of the material.This can include after initial polymerization, before and after purification, after post-polymerization modification, in the final formulation, after aging, failure and/or degradation.
The primary focus of analyzing polymers using GPC is to characterize their molecular weights and molar mass distributions. There are many motivations behind determining the molecular weight including predicting how the products' properties will be affected and determining how well a reaction went. In addition to molecular weight, scientists also want to know about changes to the sample’s structure, branching, size, solution viscosity and compositional changes; the OMNISEC multi-detection GPC system provides this information with the highest level of sensitivity.
The OMNISEC uses a combination of refractive index, light scattering, UV/vis spectrometer and viscometer detectors to provide a far more complete characterization than the relative molecular weight results provided by using only RI detection.
Download the App Note to learn more.

Microplastics, usually defined as pieces of plastic that are less than 5mm in size, are a global environmental and potential health issue. They can be released directly from the production or use of consumer products (primary microplastics), or from the fragmentation of larger plastic objects (secondary microplastics).
Geographically microplastics are present everywhere on Earth and have pervaded our food chains and our drinking water. Though the term “microplastics” was coined in 2004, the increased media coverage of recently published studies meant that 2018-19 was really a wake-up call to the general public about the issues with microplastics. A 2014 study estimated that there was between 15 and 51 trillion microplastic particles floating in the world’s oceans, weighing between 93 and 236 thousand metric tons.
Download this free App Note to discover how to characterize microplastics using Morphologically-Directed Raman Spectroscopy.

---for continued research even during the Covid-19 pandemic
X-ray diffraction (XRD) is the only laboratory technique that reveals structural information, such as chemical composition, crystal structure, crystallite size, strain, preferred orientation and layer thickness. Materials researchers, therefore, use XRD to analyze a wide range of materials, from powders to solids, thin films and nanomaterials.
Ultimately, the goal is to obtain a good XRD pattern result with clear, sharp peaks with low background noise. Good data collection is critical towards the next phase, which is data analysis and interpretation. These impact how you draw implications and determine your next steps of your materials research.
During this year, Malvern Panalytical is keen to help you to achieve business continuity in your XRD research. And that’s why we’re happy to share 2 great offers with you!
Free 1 year software for Powder XRD & thin film stress/reflectivity
Academic research team leaders may request up to 3 licenses on behalf of their institute / department. This offer refers to our HighScore Plussoftware, for all aspects of powder diffraction analysis and our AMASS software for thin film, stress and reflectivity analysis. Both software packages are the latest versions. Also, HighScore Plus Powder XRD software can analyze data from any brand of XRD. So why not give it a try! More information can be found here.
Free compilation of our frequently asked questions on XRD data analysis
Our senior XRD scientist, Dr Daniel Lee, takes some time to respond to FAQs on the fundamentals to XRD data analysis. For instance, the explanation of shifts in peaks to how to improve data quality with better sample preparation and more. Read our full FAQs here.

The molecular characteristics of a macromolecule are important parameters to be determined as they all can affect the material’s physical properties and behavior in a final product as well as during processing.
In order to measure and evaluate these parameters (molecular weight and molecular weight distribution, molecular size and structure) size exclusion chromatography (SEC), or gel permeation chromatography (GPC) as it is also known, is one of the most useful tools that can be used.
Download the App Note to learn more.

Our ‘Ask an Expert!’ webinar series is the ultimate way to learn how to deal with any analytical challenges you might be facing. On July 13th, our expert is there to help you with your standardless elemental analysis.
Our Omnian application package is a powerful tool for (semi-)quantitative chemical composition analysis but, are you making the most of it? In one hour, we will discuss how to get proper analysis results out of it and answer your questions.
The webinar will cover tips and tricks on how to get the best out of your Omnian package with WD XRF spectrometer.
If you have questions regarding your Omnian analysis do not hesitate to ask them during the webinar or send them to us by emailing askanexpert@malvernpanalytical.com or using the #MPexpert hashtag on Twitter. Questions and data can be submitted up to 10 days upfront.

Isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC) techniques have been successfully applied to study enzyme kinetics and inhibition. ITC is a well-established, versatile technique that is widely used for measuring reaction thermodynamics.
In this comprehensive review, we discuss how ITC generates real-time, enzyme kinetics data, comparable to other enzyme assays.
In part 2, we discuss how to perform enzyme kinetics experiments with a MicroCal ITC system.

Download this customer story to find out how one water treatment faclility, which produces over 169,000 million gallons of clean drinking water per year, reduced the cost of producing water by $4.65 per one million Gallons!

Unsupported or aging technology presents business-critical risks to continuity, productivity and output in today’s fast-moving, high-tech laboratory environments where skills and practices have changed dramatically in recent years. Investing in new technology means weighing up the true costs of inaction versus the benefits of staying ahead and what that means for your business.
Download the whitepaper and brochure to discover the benefits of upgrading to the Mastersizer 3000.

Selective laser sintering (SLS) is an additive manufacturing technique that uses a laser to selectively sinter powdered material to create a solid 3-dimensional structure. SLS has the potential to produce serial parts with high quality and high mechanical properties.
Although the technique has been noted to have high potential for many years, there remain some challenges facing this approach. In this app note, we investigate the solutions to these challenges.

In recent years, additive manufacturing (AM) has transitioned successfully from a prototyping tool to a still new, but established and economically viable choice, for component production. Annual sales of AM machines have risen from less than 200 in 2012 to more than 500 in 2014 as the aerospace, energy, automotive, medical, and tooling industries have embraced the technology, and this trend is expected to continue. The use of AM in manufacturing is increasing the proportion of the market dedicated to metal materials – which is expected to account for a quarter of the whole market by 2023.
Download the Whitepaper and begin exploring the impact of particle morphology & powder flowability.

Additive layer manufacturing refers to the 3D printing process that can produce complex shapes from comparatively small amounts of raw material. For metal parts, the traditional method is subtractive manufacturing whereby a part is machined from a solid block of metal in a milling process. But, why is there so much interest in the additive technique?
Download the Case Study to learn more.

Modern batteries like Lituim-ion have revolutionized our day to day life from smart mobile devices to pollution free electric cars and intelligent power management solutions. Batteries also hold the potential to being economical alternatives for mass energy storage to compliment renewable energy resources for power grid applications. Despite these successes, gaps in the battery technology remain in terms of safety as well as performance.
Download the case study to learn more on Crystalline Phase Analysis of Lithium Ion Battery Electrode Materials.

Wall Colmonoy is a leading global materials engineering group of companies engaged in the manufacturing of brazing products, precision castings, coatings, and engineered components across aerospace, automotive, oil & gas, mining, energy and other industrial sectors.
In this free case study, learn how they improved their metal powder products and manufacturing processes using automated imaging.