Researchers at the University of California, Santa Barbara, United States, have developed a new instrument capable of detecting individual nanoparticles with diameters as small as a few tens of nanometers. According to Jean-Luc Fraikin, the study’s lead author, “This device opens up a wide range of potential applications in nanoparticle analysis. Applications in water analysis, pharmaceutical development, and other biomedical areas are likely to be developed using this new technology.” The new device is able to detect nanoparticles, suspended in fluid, as they flow one by one through the instrument at rates up to half a million particles per second. The instrument is able to measure the volume of each nanoparticle, allowing for very rapid and precise size analysis of complex mixtures. The researchers also showed that the device could detect bacterial virus particles, both in saline solution as well as in mouse blood plasma. The study was published online this week in the journal Nature Nanotechnology. The article can be viewed online at the link below.
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