Particle Size Analyser (PSA)

Particle size analysis, particle size measurement, or simply particle sizing is the collective name of the technical procedures, or laboratory techniques which determines the size range, and/or the average, or mean size of the particles in a powder or liquid sample.
The particle size measurement is typically achieved by means of devices called Particle Size Analyzers (PSA) which are based on different technologies, such as high definition image processing, analysis of Brownian motion, gravitational settling of the particle and light scattering (Rayleigh and Mie scattering) of the particles.Particle size analysis based on light scattering has widespread application in many fields, as it allows relatively easy optical characterization of samples enabling improved quality control of products in many industries including pharmaceutical, food, cosmetic, polymer production.Recent years have seen many advancements in light scattering technologies for particle characterization. For submicron particle measurement, dynamic light scattering (DLS) has now become an industry standard technique. This method analyzes the fluctuations of scattered light by particles in suspension when illuminated with a laser to determine the velocity of the Brownian motion, which can then be used to obtain the hydrodynamic size of particles using the Stokes-Einstein relationship. Although DLS is a useful approach to determine the size distribution of many nano and biomaterials systems, it does suffer from several disadvantages.