Beckman Coulter focuses on innovative cutting-edge technologies and possesses high-resolution characterization techniques in particle size characterization. From the innovative LS 13320 series laser particle size analyzer to the Coulter counter and particle size analyzer, Beckman Coulter can help R&D and quality control personnel accurately characterize, discover key details that have not been discovered, obtain more realistic particle size information, and contribute to the progress of science and products.

At the 11th Annual Conference of the Chinese Particle Society and the Cross Strait Particle Technology Symposium, Beckman not only brought high-resolution static laser diffraction technology to the attendees, but also higher resolution Coulter counting and particle size analysis technology, stunning the particle academic conference

We often see applications that require controlling abnormally large particles, such as lithium-ion battery positive and negative electrode materials and electrolytes, abrasives, carbon powder, ink, and so on. Moreover, these abnormally large particles are often trace or small in amount, but their presence can seriously affect the performance and safety of the product and require strict control. The following case is the detection of NCM, a ternary material for lithium-ion batteries. The left image shows a laser particle size analyzer, which has been tested multiple times and is very stable. It seems that everything is normal and there are no abnormally large particles. But after using a Coulter counter and particle size analyzer to detect 53000+particles in the right figure, two abnormal particles larger than 13 particles can be sensitively detected.

In fact, such applications have exceeded the capabilities of laser particle size analyzers. This is clearly stated in the new 2020 version of ISO 13320. Due to the limitations of sampling and laser diffraction methods, uncertainties and systematic errors will significantly increase when they are less than 5% and greater than 95%. D100 or Dmax, which characterize large particles, are not allowed to be used. Therefore, it is evident that using D100 for characterization in some fields is incorrect. So how to monitor abnormal particles.

Beckman introduced an ideal method - the Coulter principle - to everyone at the Particle Science Annual Conference. It is a three-dimensional detection method that directly detects the volume and quantity of particles one by one, so based on this principle, higher resolution detection can be achieved. Including abnormal particles from the above case, as well as high-resolution particle size distribution and fine changes in particle volume.

Kurt's principle (resistance method)

Corn starch, as measured by a laser particle size analyzer in the left image below, shows that the four batches are almost identical and no differences were found. But the Coulter counter and particle size analyzer on the right clearly show that the red batch has more large particles than the other three batches, and the particle size distribution has shifted to the right. This case fully demonstrates that the Kurt principle can achieve higher resolution detection of particle size distribution.

And activities such as immune cell activation, cell modification/death/toxicity, crystal growth, microbubble generation, particle aggregation/dissolution, porous microsphere preparation, etc. are all accompanied by fine changes in particle volume, which are often upgradable. It is difficult to achieve accurate characterization using laser particle size analyzer or other methods. The Kurt principle can precisely help customers solve such problems, such as in the Car-T field: using the Kurt principle to detect the volume changes of T cells after activation to characterize the state of the cells, making scientific judgments for research, including determining the timing of the next operation, comparing different CAR-T cells, comparing the effects of different activation methods, and distinguishing cell types based on size dimensions, etc. For example, in the field of catalysts, the preparation of porous microspheres involves fine changes in particle volume due to the binding of porous interstitial materials and carbonization of microspheres. This can still be accurately characterized using the Coulter principle.

Therefore, in terms of particle size characterization, regardless of whether your sample is micrometer, nanometer, nanomicrometer, unimodal, bimodal, or multimodal, the Beckman LS13320 series laser particle size analyzer can provide high-resolution detection. If you need higher resolution detection, such as the detection of abnormally large particles, higher resolution particle size distribution, fine changes in particle volume, etc., Beckman can also provide you with solutions based on the Coulter principle.