A series of  new application notes posted on the Malvern Instruments website describes the quick and easy measurement of surface zeta potential using the zeta potential planar cell for the Zetasizer Nano particle characterization system.

Widely used as an indicator of the stability of particle suspensions and colloidal samples, surface zeta potential is traditionally measured using the specialist technique of streaming potential. Malvern’s Surface Zeta Potential Cell eliminates the need for a dedicated solution, allowing users to measure the zeta potential of surfaces in an aqueous medium on a standard instrument. The application note ‘Determination of the zeta potential of the surface of PTFE’, and others relating to different aspects of the measurement, can now be downloaded from Malvern’s online knowledge center.

Adding the surface zeta potential measurement capability to Zetasizer Nano systems opens up new applications in areas of research that include understanding and optimizing surface coatings, studying biological materials such as teeth and bone, and evaluating the effect of environmental changes on polymers or glass.

In addition to zeta potential measurements, the Zetasizer Nano instruments measure particle and molecular size from below a nanometer to several microns, electrophoretic mobility, and molecular weight.