Introducing the Malvern portfolio

Because I’m now surrounded by rheologists, GPC experts, imaging specialists and process engineers, it’s easy for me to see how Malvern Instruments has evolved in the thirteen years since I joined. We still lead the world in the production of particle sizing system, however, thanks to our activities over the last decade we’re now a more-complete materials characterization company with a range of complementary techniques which we can offer to enable customers to better understand their products.

Meet the techniques

If you only interface with one part of our company, though, you may not be aware of all the different technologies that now sit under the Malvern umbrella, so here’s a whistle-stop tour.

In the area of laser diffraction, we have particle size analyzers that take you through from off-line measurement (Mastersizer) in the lab to continuous monitoring on the plant (Insitec). We also have a special system for spray particle and droplet sizing (Spraytec), which has applications from pharmaceutical inhaler development through to understanding the operation of automotive fuel injection systems.

On the other hand, if you want to look at your particles and understand their morphology, then I’d recommend imaging (Morphologi G3/Sysmex FPIA-3000), which allows measurement of particle size and shape distributions. Morphological imaging can also be combined with NIR (Chemical Imaging) and Raman spectroscopy for compositional analysis.

For those of you dealing with all types of macromolecules we have state-of-the-art gel permeation/size exclusion chromatography systems (Viscotek). Protein and nanoparticle scientists alike benefit from the molecular weight, sizing and zeta potential measuring capabilities of the renowned Zetasizer range.

And finally, to measure rheological properties, relevant to the development of products ranging from shower gel to yogurt to adhesives, we offer a range of rotational and capillary rheometer platforms (Rosand/Kinexus).

Teamwork!

Here at Malvern, experience has taught us that the benefits of using a combination of techniques are significant in terms of the quality and rapidity of data acquisition and learning. I plan to explore these potential advantages through a series of blog posts looking at the way different Malvern technologies can work together in a complementary fashion. Watch out for the ’linking technologies’ theme over the next few months.