Our new "Lunch and Learn" seminar series is designed to bring you valuable technical advice in a format that is fun, convenient, and informative. An expert from the HORIBA Particle Size Analysis (PSA) team will present a one hour seminar during your lunch break while you enjoy lunch on us. We'll bring the food (typically sandwiches or pizza), beverages and technical presentation. All you need to do is host the event in a conference room and invite interested scientists. The topics offered in the seminar series include:

• A Structured Approach to Particle Size Method Development
• Size Analysis of Nano-Particles
• Getting the Most From Your  Laser Diffraction Particle Size Analyzer
• Characterization of Geological Samples and Sediment
• Particle Characterization in the Pharmaceutical Industry

If you are interested in a Lunch and Learn seminar at your facility click here to learn more about the program or contact us directly.

Join HORIBA and guest speaker Dr. Grant Heinicke for a discussion about how size and shape analysis can monitor and improve the development and production of pharmaceutical multi-particulates. The webinar will be held Wednesday, June 3rd at 1 PM EDT (10 AM PDT). Dynamic image analysis (DIA) offers an easy and rapid method of measuring the dimensions of large samples of particles in typical size ranges of bead products formulated for drug delivery (200 - 2,000 um). DIA is suitable for characterizing starting materials such as sugar spheres or microcrystalline cellulose beads, assessing particle size distributions of drug layered, solution layered or extruded/spheronized beads, and for measuring polymer coat thickness of enteric or sustained release coatings applied to such substrate beads. In this webinar, DIA data from a bead product, manufactured by slurry-coating an active onto sugar spheres followed by polymer coating to produce a sustained release multi-particulate formulation, will be presented and interpreted. Grant Heinicke has been employed in the pharmaceutical industry as a formulator of sustained-release solid oral dosage forms since 1987. Grant graduated with a Ph. D. in Pharmaceutical Sciences from the University of Sciences in Philadelphia in 2007 under the supervision of Dr. J.B. Schwartz. The content of this webinar is based on his Ph. D. project.

Attending the webinar is easy and free of charge. We will be glad to help you understand how to attend.

Click to view the invitation for Dynamic Image Analysis of Pharmaceutical Multi-particulates.

The LA-950 combines the most popular modern sizing technique with state of the art refinements to measure wet and dry samples measuring 10 nanometers to 3 millimeters. The central idea in laser diffraction is that a particle will scatter light at an angle determined by that particle's size. Larger particles will scatter at small angles and smaller particles scatter at wide angles.  A collection of particles will produce a pattern of scattered light defined by intensity and angle that can be transformed into a particle size distribution result.  Designed to be an accessible introduction and explanation of the laser diffraction particle sizing technique, this Technical Note covers:  The relationship between scattered light and particle sizeDifferent calculation models Design considerations Modern analyzer construction.

Technical Note 159 on the LA-950 Laser Diffraction Technique (You need to be logged in).

This Application Note presents a methodology for studying concentrated cement slurry at 72 wt% using ultrasound. Two different ultrasound based technique are involved - acoustics and electroacoustics. Acoustics yields information on particle size and electroacoustics provides data on zeta potential. Neither method requires sample dilution. Various sample handling setups offer the possibility of versatile characterization including time evolution of the sample and characterizing the role of a super-plasticizer. The results show that the zeta potential changes with the addition of different super-plasticizers. It is possible to determine the optimum dose of this additive by following the procedures described.

Application Note AN180 on Characterizing Cement Dispersions using Acoustics (You need to be logged in).

It's that time of year again where we ask our instrument users to spend a few minutes of your time and provide some feedback. Can't stand that annoying Product Specialist in your life?  Wish you had a Nano-Zeta-Shape-Online-Rheo-PictoSizer?  Just want a chance (existing customers only) to win an iPod Touch?  Fill out our customer satisfaction survey by giving your honest thoughts about the quality of HORIBA products and services and you'll be entered into a drawing where one of every 100 responses earns an iPod Touch.

Click here to take our survey (less than 3 minutes) and let us know how we're doing.