Microosmometer for the Study of a Wide Range of Biological, Macromolecular, Polymeric, Gel, or Other Samples

Scientists at the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute for Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) have discovered a new microosmometer that allows for the quantification of minor changes in the swelling properties of different materials (including tissue specimens) using microgram amounts of sample. Varying the vapor pressure in the environmental chamber of the device induces controlled changes in the osmotic pressure of the specimen on the surface of a flat quartz crystal microbalance. Variation in the swelling degree is measured with high sensitivity and reliability by monitoring the change in resonance frequency of the quartz crystal oscillator. The device requires less than one microgram of sample, and possesses an extremely fast response time. The device is well-suited to the study of a wide range of biological, macromolecular, polymeric, gel, or other samples.IC: (NICHD)NIH Ref. No.: E-280-2002Advantages: Requirement of 1 microgram allows probing local osmotic properties of small samplesRapid equilibration permits fast sample analysisNon-destructive evaluation possible  Applications: Measuring hydration characteristics in tissue and other samplesMeasuring hydration isotherms in micro-gram quantities of samplesWide areas of application in material science, polymer science, processing, food packaging, adhesives, paint manufacture, etc.Development Status: PrototypeUpdated On: Jul 9, 2018Provider Classifications: Date Published:&...

Source: NIH OTT Licensing Opportunities - July 9, 2018 Category: Research Authors: ajoyprabhu3 Source Type: research