New System Counts, Measures Nanoparticles

I’m a big fan of nanoparticles. Anything I can’t see but could potentially eat millions of in a second is alright in my book. That’s why this little counter is so cool: it allows you to count and measure items in the range of 100 nanometers and smaller.

The system runs a fluid containing the particles past a counter at speeds as high as half-a-million particles per second. It’s described as a “turnstile” for nanoparticles.

The instrument measures the volume of each nanoparticle, allowing for very rapid and precise size analysis of complex mixtures. Additionally, the researchers showed that the instrument could detect bacterial virus particles, both in saline solution as well as in mouse blood plasma.

via Eurekalert