High-Definition Digital Particle Size Analyzer

Saturn DigiSizer® II

Sensitivity, High Resolution, Reproducibility, Repeatability

Features

• Measuresbothorganicandinorganicparticlesrangingfrom40nanometersto2.5millimetersequivalentsphericaldiameter.

• CCDdetectorcontainsoverthreemilliondetectorelementsproducingextremelyhigh-resolutiondata.

• Adjustableliquidsamplehandlingunitforautomaticsampling,dilution,anddisper-sionisavailableinbothstandardandlow-volumeconfigurations.

• OnecomputercancontroluptotwoSaturnDigiSizerseachwithaliquidsamplehandlingunit.

• OptionalMasterTech052Autosamplerprovidesunattendedanalysisofupto18samples.

Saturn DigiSizer II High-Definition Digital Particle Size Analyzer

Major Advance in Particle Sizing Technology

Particlesizingtechniqueshaveadvancedsignificantlythroughoutthepastseveraldecades.Oneofthemostimportantcontributionstothisfieldistheapplicationoflaser-basedtechnologies,complementedwiththeuseofmodernphotodetectorsanddigitalcomputers.Forsometime,progressinlaserlightscatteringtechnologyhasledtofasteranalyses,butthequalityofthemeasurementwaslimited,oftenduetoinadquenciesinthedetector.Recognizingthisneedforbetterdetectioncapability,MicromeriticsdevelopedtheSaturnDigiSizer,aninstrumentthatemployedalaserdiodeandmoderncharge-coupleddevice(CCD)detectortosignificantlyimprovethesensitivity,resolution,reproducibility,andrepeatabilityofthelaserlightscatteringparticlesizingtechnique.

WiththeSaturnDigiSizerII,Micromeriticshasagainimprovedthisparticlesizetechnique.Utilizingastate-of-the-artCCDdetectorcontainingoverthreemilliondetectorelements,Mietheory,anduniquedesignanddatareductionfeatures,theSaturnDigiSizerIIgivesusersanextremelyhighlevelofresolutionandsensitivitynotavailableinotherlaserparticlesizingsystems.Thelevelofdetail,accuracy,andresolutionenablestheextractionofallavailableinformationfromthestaticlightscatteringpattern.Userscannowmeasurethesamematerialonmultipleinstrumentslocatedatdifferentlocationsaroundtheworldandgetthesame,highlydetailedsizedistributionmeasurementoneachinstrument.TheSaturnDigiSizerIIisfullyautomatedandrequireslittleoperatorintervention.

• Fast,detailedresultsarerepeatableon,andreproduciblebetween,everySaturnDigiSizerII.

• User-friendlyanalysisprogramincludeswizardsandintuitivescreensandisdesignedtooperateintheWindows®environment.

Cosmetics – Theappearance,application,andpackagingofcosmeticsareinfluencedbytheparticlesizedistributionofthebasepowders,suchastalc,andthepigmentsusedincoloring.

Abrasives–Performanceofabrasives,eitherinpowderformorafterbeingattachedtoabacking,isdictatedbythesizedistributionoftheabrasivepowder.Oversizedparticlesleadtoscratchingandgouging.Undersizedparticlesmayleadtocloggingoftheabrasivepapers.

Mining–Refiningefficiencyofmaterialsisrelatedstronglytotheparticlesizedistributionoftherawmineral.Forproductsthatareusedwithoutchemicalchange,thesizeofparticlestakenfromtheminemaybetoolargeforfinalusage.Analysesperformedontheextractedmineralswillhelpdeterminetheamountofsizereductionneededoncetheproductreachestheprocessingplant.

Column Packing Materials–Theback-pressureofthepackedbedwithinthecolumnisadirectfunctionofthesizeofthechannelsthroughthebedand,thus,thesizedistributionofthecolumnpackingmaterial.Oversizedparticlescreatevoidsinthebed,reducingefficiencyduetoremixingoftheseparatedsamplecomponents.Undersizedparticlesleadtoblockageofflowpathsthroughthebed,increasingtheback-pressureandanalysistime.Aproperdistributionleadstogreaterseparationefficiency.

Applications

Pharmaceuticals – Particlesizeplaysamajorroleintheabilitytoprocess,blend,tablet,andpackageadrugsubstance.Theusefulshelflifeanddissolutionrate(governinghowrapidlythemedicinebecomesavailabletothebody)dependupontheparticlesizeofthematerial.

Ceramics – ParticleSizeinformationhelpstodeterminecuringandbondingprocedures,controlporestructure,ensureadequategreenbodystrength,andproduceafinalproductofdesiredstrength,texture,appearance,anddensity.

Catalysts – Flowpropertiesoffluid-crackingcatalystsdependupontheparticlesizedistributionoftheparticles.Surfaceareaandporestructureofacidcatalystsandcatalystsupportsresultfromtheparticlesizedistributionoftheparticlesthatareusedtoproducethem.

Paints and Coatings – Theparticlesizedistributionofthepigmentorfillerinfluencestheporosity,gloss,texture,color,colorsaturation,brightness,solidscontent,andfilmadhesionproperties.Theresultingporositycancontrolapplicationpropertiessuchasfluidity,dryingorsettingtime,andfilmthickness.

Saturn DigiSizer II Advantages

✔ Superiorsensitivity

✔ Higherresolution

✔ Superioranalysis-to-analysisrepeatability

✔ Greateraccuracy

✔ Betterreproducibility

✔ Exceptionaldataquality

✔ Fullyautomatedsystem

✔ Versatilesamplehandlingoptions

✔ Easy-to-usesoftware

✔ 21CFRPart11softwareoption

✔ IQ/OQvalidationserviceoption

✔ Noproprietary“black-box”algorithms

Revolutionary Approach to Particle Sizing

Patented Optical Design

CCDswereoriginallydevelopedandusedforhigh-sensitivityandhigh-resolutionrequirementsofimagingforastronomy.TheSaturnDigiSizerIIcapturesthescatteringpatternusingapatentedopticaldesignthatemploysaCCDasthelightdetector.Ahigh-definitiondigitalrepresentationofthescatteringpattern,whichcontainsalloftheinformationrequiredtodeterminetheparticlesizedistribution,iscaptured.

Micromeritics’applicationoftheCCDarrayeliminatestheneedformechanicalfine-tuningofopticalalignment.Theinstrumentisautomaticallyalignedbyre-mappingtheCCDarraysothatthescatteringangleassignedtoeachelementisexacttolessthan0.005degreerelativetothecentral,unscatteredlightbeam.TheSaturnDigiSizerII’sCCDarrayhasmorethanthreemilliondetectorelements.Theresultingextremelyhighresolutionmakesitpossibletodetectsubtledifferencesinthescatteringpatternsand,therefore,subtledifferencesinparticlesizedistributions.Theseminutedifferencesinsampleparticlesizemayindicateamanufacturingvariance,corroborateorrefutetheoreticalstudies,orhelpexplainnaturalprocesses.Higherresolutionmeansgreaterknowledgeaboutdifferencesbetweensamples.

Advanced design features enable the Saturn DigiSizer to measure a light scattering pattern over a broad range of scattering angles with a dynamic intensity range from 1 to 1x1010. Combined with the high angular resolution of the CCD, the detector system provides an effective resolution of several million pixels at different positions in the scattering pattern, each detecting minute variations in light intensity. The Saturn DigiSizer’s high resolution enables the instrument to detect extremely small variations in the scattering pattern that are not detected by lower resolution instruments. It is this high level of accuracy that allows the Saturn DigiSizer to provide more detailed and precise particle size information than laser diffraction particle sizing systems of conventional design.The Saturn DigiSizer’s

high resolution enables the instrument to detect extremely small variations in the scattering pattern that are not detected by lower resolution instruments.

Micromeritics’ New Approach to an Old Technique

Theoriesconcerningtherelationshipbetweenanassemblageofparticlesandthepatternoflightitscatteredwereproposedinthe1800’s,mathematicallyunifiedbyMiein1908,andeloquentlysummarizedbyvandeHulstin1957.Bytheearly1970’s,laserlightscatteringparticlesizinginstrumentswerebecomingcommerciallyavailable.Amajorproblemwiththistechnique,evenupuntiltoday,hasbeenthelackofagreementbetweenanalysesofthesamesamplematerialbyinstrumentsfromdifferentmanufacturers,andevenbetweendifferentmodelsproducedbythesamemanufacturer.Thisisprimarilybecauseofmeasurementoftoofewdatapointsinthescatteringpatternandtheinadequateattemptstocompensateforlowresolutionandothershortcomingsusingsoftware-basedalgorithms.

Micromeriticshastakenanewandmoreeffectivedesignapproachtomeasuringthescatteringpattern.Ratherthanuseaphotodiodearraytocaptureaveragelightintensityreadingsoverextendedregionsofthescatteringpattern,theSaturnDigiSizerIIusesahigh-resolutionCCDarrayinastepwisemannertocaptureatruedigitalrepresentationofthescatteringpattern–notsimplythe50-or100-lightmeasurementswithinthepatternastakenwithnon-digitaltechniques.

Withthishigh-resolution,closelyspacedarrayofdata,theintensityversusangleplotofdataispracticallycontinuous.Thus,Mietheorycanbeapplieddirectly,withoutcompensationalgorithmsandwithoutconcernoverwhetherthedistributionismonomodalormultimodal.ThequalityoftheSaturnDigiSizerIIanalysisisapparentuponoverlayingtheangleversesintensityplotofexperimentaldatafromananalysisofareferencematerial(oramixtureofdifferentsizereferencematerials)withtheangleversusintensityplotofdatacalculatedfromMietheoryforthereferencesize(s).SuchacomparisonisastandardreportprovidedbytheSaturnDigiSizerII.

Superior Data Reduction and Reporting

Inaddition,Micromeritics’confirm™21CFRPart11softwareassistswithcompliancetoFDAregulations.CombinedwithMicromeritics’IQandOQservices,theusercanbeassuredthattheSaturnDigiSizerIIsystemisvalidatedforaccuracy,reliability,consistentperformance,andprovidessafeguardstoprotecttheintegrityofanalysisrecords.Systemaccessislimitedtoauthorizedindividuals.Secure,computer-generated,time-stampedaudittrailsareintegralpartsofthesoftwareprogram.

Wide Range of Data Presentation Options

Withmanyinstrumentsthatemploythestaticlightscatteringtechnique,afinalreportofreduceddatatypicallyistheonlyoutputavailable.TheSaturnDigiSizerII,however,allowsyoutoaccesstherawdata.Forinstance,animageofthescatteringpattern(2-Dand3-Drepresentations)canbedisplayed,oryoucanreceivea592-pointintensityversusangledatareportintabularorgraphicalform.Toallowaquickassessmentofthefitoftheoreticalmodelstoexperimentaldata,youalsocanobtainanoverlayplotofmeasureddatacalculatedfromMietheory.

TheSaturnDigiSizerII’spowerful,easy-to-useandversatileuserinterfaceprovidesalltheconvenientfeaturesyouexpectfromaWindows-basedprogramsuchaspoint-and-clickmenus,multitaskingcapability,copytoclipboard,andmore.ThefamiliarWindowsformatreducesthetimerequiredfortrainingandeliminatestheneedformostoff-linedatamanipulation,resultinginincreasedproductivity.TheanalysisprogramisdesignedtooperateintheWindowsenvironmentandincludeswizardsandintuitivescreensenablingyoutoperformsystemoperationsquicklyandefficiently.

This repeat analysis of a blend of 10 latex standards demonstrates the size resolution and repeatability of the calculated distribution.

This is an analysis of two narrow-distribution latex microspheres which differ in size by only 10%. Notice the baseline resolution.

The Goodness of Fit graph of a 102-µm latex standard shows the agreement between the calculated PSD and the measured light scattering data.

Typical histogram of a mixture of 50-, 80-, and 160-µm latex standards with cumulative size distribution.

Reduction of Raw Data Based on Mie Theory Ensures Exceptional Data Quality

MicromeriticsemploystheMietheory(ortheoperatorcanchoosetouseFraunhoferforparticlesthatarebothlargeandopaque)toreduceexperimentaldatausingawell-published,non-negativeleastsquaresmethod.Thesetheoriesdescribelightscatteringviatheoreticalmodels.NomodificationstothetheoryaremadewiththeSaturnDigiSizerII,andnoassumptionsofmodalityordistributiontypeareused.ThisismadepossiblebytheremarkablyhighresolutionoftheopticalsystemallowingverynarrowsizeclassestobeusedinfittingthedatatoMietheory.

TheapplicationofMietheoryprovidesunambiguoussizedata.Inadditiontoreportingthedata,theSaturnDigiSizerIIcangenerateaplotthatshowshowwellexperimentalmeasurementscomparewiththeoreticalMiecalculationsforthescatteringpatternfromthereporteddistribution.

Analysis of a blend of a sample of 44- to 53-µm glass beads and a sample of 125- to 149-µm glass beads.

This magnified view of the frequency distribution for the 5.010-µm latex standard demonstrates the remarkable repeatability of the Saturn DigiSizer II.

This PSD History chart of 94 analyses of garnet illustrates the reproducibility of the Saturn DigiSizer II.

Accessories

TheSaturnDigiSizerIISystemincludesmanyoptionsthatallowyoutotailoryourinstrumentaccordingtoyourspecificneeds.Multiplesampledispersionsystemoptions,anautomaticautosampler,andadeviceforremovingdissolvedgasesfromthesuspensionliquidareavailableandcontributetotheversatilityofthesystem.TheseoptionsarealldesignedandmanufacturedwiththesamecareandattentiontodetailthatproducedtheSaturnDigiSizer.

Liquid Sample Handling Units

TheSaturnDigiSizerII’ssamplehandlingunitensuresthateverysamplewillbecorrectlydispersed.Micromeritics’patented,state-of-the-artliquidsamplehandlingunits(LSHU)workwiththeinstrumentsoftwaretoassurethatsamplesuspensionisoftheproperconcentration.Acontinuousflowthroughthereservoirprovidesamixingactionsufficienttokeepallsamplematerialsuspendedandpreventsthesettlingofparticles.TheLSHUhasseveralautomatedfeaturessuchasabuilt-inultrasonicprobe,automaticliquidlevelcontrol,particleconcentrationdetection,andasamplecirculationsystemthatcontinuouslymaintainsdispersion.Auto-dispersionandauto-dilutionfeaturesmonitorthesample’sconcentrationandaddliquidasneededuntiloptimumconcentrationisobtained.

Toreducethepossibilityofsamplecarryoverbetweenanalyses,theLSHUhasapatentedreservoirrinsedesign.Whileotherdesignssimplyfillandemptythereservoirtorinse,theSaturnDigiSizer’sLSHUhasafeaturethatspraysthereservoirwallsasthefluidlevelrecedes.Thisremovesresiduethatotherwisemightclingtothesurface.

TheLSHUSystemisavailableintwoconfigurations,astandardversionandalow-volumeversion.MicromeriticscanhelpyoudeterminetheLSHUthatfitsyourspecificneeds.

Standard Liquid Sample Handling Unit

Thestandardunitincludesareservoirthatisadjustablebetween590to690mLofdispersedsamplewithacirculationpumprateof5–19Lperminute.Itcancirculateparticlesfrom0.04to2500µm.Thehighflowratebettersupportsparticlesthathaveaninherentlyhighersettlingvelocity.Inaddition,thehighersystemclearancehelpstoavoidattritionoftheparticlesduringcirculation.

Applications:

• Coarseparticles

• High-densityparticles

• Quantityofsample,liquidsupplyand/orwastedisposalisnotaproblem

Low-Volume Liquid Sample Handling Unit

Thelow-volumeunitincludesareservoirthatisadjustablebetween100to120mLofdispersedsamplewithacirculationpumprateof2–12Lperminute.Itcancirculateparticlesfrom0.04to750µmindiameter.Thelow-volumeliquidsamplehandlingunitreducescostbyusingsmalleramountsofsample,andreducestheexpenseofwastedisposal.

Applications:

• Samplequantityislimited

• Supplyofdispersionliquidislimitedand/orexpensive

• Dispersionliquidmaybehazardoustouseand/ormakedisposaldifficult

AquaPrep™

Whenusingwaterasasuspensionliquidduringparticlesizeanalysis,itispossibleforatmosphericgasestobereleasedfromsolutionformingminutebubblesthatbecomeincorporatedwiththesampledispersion.Thishasadisruptiveeffectonparticlesizeanalysisbecausethebubblescirculatethroughthemeasurementzoneoftheanalyzerandaredetectedasiftheywereparticles.Thiscanresultinthereportingofparticlesizeclassesthatarenotactuallypresent.Removingthesebubblesisrequiredforobtainingthemostaccurateparticlesizedata,particularlywhenusingahighlysensitiveanalyzerliketheSaturnDigiSizerII.Micromeritics’AquaPrepsolvesthisproblembyrecirculatingwaterthroughahydrophobiccapsuleconsistingofmanythin-walledcapillaries.Avacuumpumpprovideslowpressureontheoutsideofthecapillaries.Theresultisadiffusionofdissolvedairfromthewaterthroughthecapillarywallsandremovalthroughthevacuumpump.

TheAquaPrepcanprepare10litersofwaterinlessthan2hours(atstandardtemperatureandpressure)andensuresthatyouobtainthemostaccuraterepresentationpossibleoftheparticlesizedistributioninyoursample.

MasterTech™ Autosampler

TheMasterTechAutosamplerprovidesassurancethatallsamplesarepreparedandanalyzedexactlythesameway.TheMasterTechisdesignedtoincreasethroughput,repeatability,andreproducibilitywhilereducingoperatorinvolvement.Upto18samplescanbequeuedtorunsequentiallyandcompletelyunattended,includingautomaticstirringorsonicationpriortotransfertotheanalysissystem.TheSaturnDigiSizerII’soperatingsoftwarecontrolstheMasterTech,andinformationaboutdispersionisstoredinthesamplefileforfuturereference.

TheMasterTechfeaturesapowerfulultrasonicprobeforsampledispersion.Powertotheprobetipisadjustableandthedrivingcircuitisself-tuningformaintainingefficientandconsistentsonicenergylevels.Afront-paneldigitalreadoutletsyouknowwhenthedesiredpowerisreached,andthatsamepowerisappliedeachtimethemethodisrepeated.

To request a quote or additional product information, visit Micromeritics’ web site at www.micromeritics.com, contact your local Micromeritics sales representative, or our Customer Service Department at (770) 662-3636.

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