Determination of nanoparticle size distribution.

Nanoparticles are finding many research and industrial applications, yet their characterization remains a challenge. Their cores are often polydisperse and coated by a stabilizing shell that varies in size and composition. No single technique can characterize both the size distribution and the nature of the shell. Advances in analytical ultracentrifugation allow for the extraction of the sedimentation (s) and diffusion coefficients (D). In collaboration with researchers from the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Saudi Arabia, the group of Prof. Francesco Stellacci (SUNMIL - Supramolecular Nanomaterials and Interfaces Laboratory) report an approach to transform the s and D distributions of nanoparticles in solution into precise molecular weight (M), density (ρP) and particle diameter (dp) distributions.

Randy P. Carney et al., Nature Communications 2, Article number: 335, doi:10.1038/ncomms1338 (2011)