A new accessory for Malvern Instruments' Zetasizer Nano particle characterization system allows users to measure the zeta potential of surfaces in an aqueous medium on a standard instrument. Malvern's new surface zeta potential measurement cell eliminates the need to use the specialist technique of streaming potential, which requires instrumentation dedicated only to that measurement.
A diagram of the new surface zeta potential cell from Malvern Instruments.
Particle zeta potential is widely measured as an indicator of the stability of colloidal systems. Studying surface zeta potential assesses the likelihood of material interaction with that surface.
Adding the surface zeta potential measurement capability to the Zetasizer Nano opens up new applications in areas of research that include understanding and optimizing surface coatings, studying biological materials such as teeth and bone, and evaluating the effect of environmental changes on polymers or glass. This information can be used to predict or modify the interaction of materials such as proteins binding to a contact lens surface or nanoparticles interacting with environmental samples such as rocks. A Malvern webinar on 4 October 2011 will explain this in more detail www.malvern.com/szpwebex
In addition to zeta potential measurements, the Zetasizer series measures particle and molecular size from below a nanometer to several microns, electrophoretic mobility, and molecular weight