Processing equipment

• Lab-scale high pressure equipment for materials processing with compressed fluids (up to 25 MPa of pressure and 450 °C temperature): Stainless steel, high-pressure equipments for the preparation of soft molecular materials with controlled structure at supramolecular, micro- and nanoscopic level. Available volumes of 10, 25, 50, 100, 150 and 300 mL.
• High-pressure pilot plant for the preparation and processing of soft and particulated materials (up to 50 MPa of pressure and 500 °C temperature): Pilot plant made of 4 in-series reactors from 1 to 16 L, for the development of projects involving high flows. Suitable for batch or continuous operational mode.
• Ultrasonics for the preparation of disperse systems: Equipped with a VCZX 750, Sonics and Materials, it can safely process a wide range of organic and inorganic materials – from microliters to liters.
• Phase analyzer: High-pressure, variable-volume, stainless-steel vessel for the visual inspection of pressurized fluids and analysis of thermodynamic phase behaviours. Pressure and volume are controlled by means of a plunger driven by a compressed gas. The vessel is also thermostated to the temperature of choice. Ideal for solubility and miscibility measurements of pressurized mixtures.

Characterization equipment

• Zetasizer NanoZS: Measurement of the particle size distribution of solid or dispersed materials (suspensions, liposome, vesicles, emulsions), in the range comprised between 0.6nm and 6 microns, by dynamic light scattering.
• Nanosight NS300: Allows automated analysis of the size distribution and concentration of particles in liquid suspension, in the range comprised between 10nm to 1 micron, using light scattering and Brownian motion.
• Mastersizer 2000: Allows for the measurement of particle size distribution through laser diffraction techniques. The measure range is between 100 nm to 3500 microns.
• Turbiscan Lab: For stability studies of different products (emulsions, suspensions, foams, etc), to detect destabilisations such as coalescence, flocculation, creaming, sedimentation, etc.
• LM20: Allows for the real-time visualization of nanoparticles in a liquid for particle size distribution and particle concentration in a range of samples, like paints, pigments, sun creams, inks, metals, metal oxides or fuel additives in any non-corrosive solvent as well as biological ones. The measure range is between 10 nm to 1 micron.
• VP Isothermal Titration Calorimetry: Ultrasensitive isothermal titration calorimeter for measurement of heat released or absorbed during a biomolecular binding event, useful for the characterization of inter biomolecular and biomolecure-materials interactions.
• Ultrapyc 1200e Helium Pycnometer: Fully automated gas pycnometer, for the measurement of volume and density of powders, granular materials, and solid objects.
• Autotap: Tap Density Analyzer that allows for the measurement of the maximum packing efficiency on particle-particle cohesion, formalized in international standards to which Autotap conform
• Zetasizer Ultra: The Zetasizer ULTRA is used to measure the particle size of dispersed systems from sub-nanometer to several micrometers in diameter, using the technique of Dynamic Light Scattering (DLS). Zetasizer systems are also used to analyze particle mobility and charge (Zeta potential) using the technique of Electrophoretic Light Scattering (ELS), and the molecular weight of particles in solution using Static Light Scattering (SLS).
• Green Laser: The Green laser module for the NanoSight NS300 equipment. The NS300 allows analysis of the size distribution and concentration of all types of nanoparticles from 0.01 – 1 µm in diameter. This new laser module will allow NTA to measure a range of fluorescent particles, avoiding interferences during the measurements due to sample (auto)fluorescence and absorption. This is done by detecting the fluorescence signal, which is emitted naturally by particles or as a result of fluorescence labeling or tagging.
• KrosFlo Research IIi TFF System: The equipment is a cross-flow filtration equipment used for the separation of components by size. The technique is classified as a membrane-based separation method. The operation of the system consists on the recirculation of a sample across a porous column made of thin fibers, where components bigger than the pore size are retained inside the recirculating system while the components smaller than the pore size are able to cross the porous column, being separated from the original sample. The driving force of the separation is the transmembrane pressure (TMP), which is generated by means of a peristaltic pump built in the equipment.