Ultrasonic scientific HR-US series of instruments for the characterisation of emulsions and suspensions

Citation

(2004), "Ultrasonic scientific HR-US series of instruments for the characterisation of emulsions and suspensions", Pigment & Resin Technology, Vol. 33 No. 3. https://doi.org/10.1108/prt.2004.12933cad.005

Ultrasonic scientific HR-US series of instruments for the characterisation of emulsions and suspensions

Ultrasonic scientific HR-US series of instruments for the characterisation of emulsions and suspensions

Keywords: Spectra, Emulsions, Instruments

Ultrasonic Scientific has issued a free technical note on the use of high-resolution ultrasonic spectroscopy (HR-US) for the analysis of industrial emulsions and suspensions. Available as a pdf file through the Ultrasonic Scientific Web site: www.ultrasonic-scientific.com or as a hard copy, the note shows the implications of non-destructive material analysis based on measurements in parameters of high frequency sound waves propagated through analysed samples.

This new application note explains how the award-winning high-resolution ultrasonic spectroscopy series of instruments characterises emulsions and dispersions using high-resolution spectroscopy, and details three applications in this area. These include the analysis of absorption of ligands on the surface of particles, the comparative analysis of the thermal stability of emulsions and dispersions and the analysis of coagulation in calcium formed in milk.

Pharmaceuticals, chemical analysis, food and drink, personal care and cosmetics industries currently use DSC, microscope, life scattering, turbidity and viscometry techniques for analysing industrial emulsions and suspensions. However, ultrasonic spectrometry has advantages over these techniques as it is able to directly follow the destabilisation of an emulsion with no change in enthalpy needed. The exact point of destabilisation, changes in structure before destabilisation, ability to recover and the stability over time and temperature can also be measured. Unlike current techniques, the measurements do not require any optical activity or transparency of the sample and can be measured dilute or concentrated.

The note explains how the key changes in compound behaviour can be identified by high- resolution ultrasonic spectroscopy, such as changes in some emulsions after thermal activity which lead to phase separation of the emulsion, and the effects of different additives on stabilising milk-based compounds.

Other applications of the ultrasonic spectroscopy technique include analysis of chemical reactions, conformation transitions in polymers and biopolymers, aggregation and gelation phenomena, particle sizing, phase transitions, stability of emulsions and suspensions, formation of micelles and CMC measurements, ligand binding and composition analysis.

The HR-US series of instruments perform non-destructive measurements in small samples (typically 1 ml, lower and higher value of sample compartments available), under well-controlled temperature conditions (down to 0.01°C), with no sample preparation or time-consuming set-up. The new technical note is available free-of-charge directly from Ultrasonic Scientific in a hard copy format or a pdf file via the Web site: www.ultrasonic-scientific.com

For more information, contact: Ultrasonic Scientific Ltd. Tel: +353 1 218 0600; E-mail: info@ultrasonic-scientific.com