Researchers at the Leibniz Institute of Photonic Technology (Leibniz IPHT) have developed a new fiberglass (Microstructured fibers measure nanoparticle size) design that allows long-term monitoring of large numbers of individual nanoparticles moving through liquid. This allows the size distribution of the nano-materials in the sample to be determined with high precision. Scientists thus lay the foundation for better research in environmental and bioanalytical questions in the future.
Whether in water testing, vaccine production or biological research, the mixing of small particles occurs in almost all areas of daily life and consists of a wide variety of substances. diversity in the marine environment. The exact determination of individual components of the mixture of such fine particles in a liquid (dispersion) poses a challenge in science – especially regarding the width of their particle size distribution and the presence of different types of particles that are not think alone. small in size. The new microstructured glass fiber (single fiber antiresonant element) developed at IPHT Leibniz offers the potential to improve the size of nano-materials.
New optical fiber for high precision analysis
Thanks to a special optical fiber developed at the Jena Institute, nano-materials in water solutions with a diameter of less than 20 nanometers can be blocked, analyzed individually and determined in their size. This makes it possible to accurately analyze the size distribution of nanoparticles in the mixture. For this purpose, the glass fiber has a thin wall and therefore a microchannel that guides the light of 17 micrometers in diameter.
To analyze the sample, the liquid is brought into contact with the hollow core, which is filled with the sample liquid under capillary force. The additional light is directed along the channel where the cable is installed. The glass wall, with a thickness of only 756 nanometers, allows the light to be analyzed in one of the samples and the nano-materials inside it. The light scattered by individual nanoparticles makes it possible to follow their position and thus allows a better observation. “With our new fiber optic system, individual nanoscale objects can be monitored over long periods of time. In this way, we can determine their size accurately and reliably, so that we can define its composition and composition,” says Mona Nissen, PhD student in the fiber photonics department at the Leibniz IPHT.
In an experimental experiment with a mixture of particles with a small difference in size, consisting of polystyrene nanospheres with an average diameter of 100 and 125 nanometers, the researchers were able to display high-precision features using new optical fibers. Scientists are able to accurately measure the particle size distribution and identify the individual components both in the mixture of monodisperse bodies and nano-materials of the same type and size class and in the composition of polydisperse bodies with different properties and size.
Applications for nanoscale applications
The proposed fiber optic system allows the use of nanotechnology applications in the field of environment and bioanalysis as well as chemistry and medicine for nanoparticle size control. Researchers find applications, for example, in testing water for microplastic residues, analyzing patient samples such as urine, looking at synthetic products in chemical science, or developing medicine.
The Leibniz IPHT researchers published their findings in the journal Small (Wiley-VCH Verlag).
