founder bob carr and john knowles headquarters malvern united kingdom area served international key people chairman john knowles ceo jeremy warren cto bob carr financial director roger humm non executive director hugh stewart products lm10 ns300 ns500 number of employees 25 uk slogan ... seeing is believing . website malvern instruments nanosight ltd is a company that designs and manufactures instruments for the scientific analysis of nanoparticles that are between approximately ten nanometers nm and one micron m in diameter . the company was founded in 2003 by bob carr and john knowles to further develop a technique bob carr had invented to visualize nanoparticles suspended in liquid . the company has since developed the technique of nanoparticle tracking analysis nta and they produce a series of instruments to count size and visualize nanoparticles in liquid suspension using this patented technology . 1 nanosight has 25 employees in the uk and has received several awards and recognitions . 2 more than 450 instruments had been sold as of 2012 . the technology has been cited in over 1300 scientific publications presentations and reports . nanosight was acquired by malvern instruments on the 30th september 2013 . 3 contents 1 product overview 2 instruments 2.1 lm10 2.2 lm10 hs 2.3 lm20 2.4 ns500 2.5 ns200 3 applications 4 recognition 5 see also 6 references 7 external links product overview edit nanosight develops and produces instruments that visualize characterize and measure small particles in suspension . detected particles may be as small as 10 nm in diameter depending on composition . nanosight instruments can analyze particle size concentration aggregation and zeta potential . an optional fluorescence mode employing an optical filter allows speciation of fluorescently labeled particles . each instrument comprises a scientific camera a microscope 4 5 and a sample viewing unit lm12 or lm14 . the viewing unit uses a laser diode to illuminate particles in liquid suspension that are held within or advanced through a flow chamber within the unit . the instrument is used in conjunction with a computer control unit that runs a custom designed nanoparticle tracking analysis nta software package . nta analyzes videos captured using the instrument giving a particle size distribution and particle count based upon tracking of each particle s brownian motion . tracking is carried out for all particles in the laser scattering volume to produce a particle size distribution using the stokes einstein equation relating the brownian motion of a particle to a sphere equivalent hydrodynamic radius . instruments edit several instruments are currently available . general specifications nanoparticle analysis range typically 10nm 1000nm dependent on particle material particle type any solvent any non corrosive solvent and water . a range of solvent resistant seals are available . power requirement own adapter supplied 110 220v laser output various . 40mw at 640nm class 1 laser product for basic lm10 and lm20 models . other lasers are available . viewing chamber volume requirements 0.3 ml most models or 0.1 ml ns500 although larger volumes must be loaded into the fluidics system if sample is not directly injected lm10 edit an lm10 instrument nanosight s lm10 instrument is based upon a conventional optical microscope fitted with a scientific camera ccd emccd or scmos and either the lm12 or lm14 viewing unit . using a laser light source with a wavelength of 405 nm blue 532 nm green or 638 nm red the particles in the sample are illuminated and the scattered light is captured by the camera and displayed on the connected personal computer running nanoparticle tracking analysis nta software . using nta the particles are automatically tracked and sized . results are displayed as a frequency size distribution graph and are exported in various user selected formats including spreadsheets and video files . additionally information rich videos clips may be captured and archived for future reference and alternative analyses . the lm10 is proven with most nanoparticle classes down to 10 nm dependent upon particle density dispersed in a wide range of solvents . lm10 hs edit an lm10 hs instrument the lm10 hs instrument is similar to the standard lm10 unit but has a higher sensitivity scmos camera emccd in earlier models . this allows smaller lower refractive index particles to be analyzed . the lm10 hs is more commonly used for sizing biological samples including viruses and vaccines . lm20 edit an lm20 instrument nanosight s lm20 is in essence a boxed up lm10 designed and created for greater ease of use . using the same standard lm12 viewing unit as the lm10 this instrument provides identical results to those obtained in analyses run on an lm10 system . typically the lm20 is used in more industrial applications such as analyzing particles used in paints pigments cosmetics and foodstuffs . the lm20 is ideal for users unfamiliar with using a microscope . ns500 edit the ns500 incorporates multiple automated features including computer controlled peristaltic pumps and stage positioning for reproducibility and ease of use . through the interface of the nta software suite the fluidics system may be used to inject samples into a small viewing chamber dilute samples to a specified degree flush the system between samples or clean and dry the viewing chamber . in contrast with earlier models the ns500 does not require manual cleaning of the viewing chamber between each sample thus increasing throughput . optical stage positions may be set for optical and fluorescent readings improving reproducibility . sample temperature control is also programmable . ns200 edit like the lm20 but with a high sensitivity camera like that of the ns500 the ns200 has a housing and is ideal for use in industrial settings such as manufacture of inks paints pigments petrochemicals and vaccines . its configuration is designed for study of small or otherwise weakly scattering nanoparticles such as viruses phage liposomes and other drug delivery nanoparticles and protein aggregates . it can be used in a non laboratory environment by individuals unfamiliar with microscopes . applications edit nanosight instruments are used for a variety of applications including ceramic and metallic nanoparticles pigments paints and sun creams exosomes microvesicles and other small biological particles pharmaceutical particles liposomes viruses carbon nanotubes multi walled colloidal suspensions and polymer particles cosmetics and foodstuffs particles in fuels and oils soot catalyst wax etc. wear debris in lubricants chemical mechanical polishing slurries nanotoxicology studies in 2011 the european union eu announced that companies that use nanoparticles in their products may be required to report the quantity and size of their nanomaterials . nanosight suggests that its products will be important for companies seeking to satisfy the new requirements . 2 recognition edit queen s awards for enterprise ; innovation 2013 queen s award for enterprise in international trade 2012 2 technology world business innovation award 2011 2 6 winner deloitte technology fast 50 2011 7 see also edit nanoparticle tracking analysis malvern instruments references edit hurley james june 28 2011 nanotech s miniature visionaries unsure where to focus the telegraph uk a b c d a queen s award for enterprise for international trade 2012 has been awarded to nanosight . nanotechnology now may 1 2012 . nanosight acquired by malvern instruments . malvern instruments . bob carr patrick hole andrew malloy jonathan smith andrew weld and jeremy warren 2008 the real time simultaneous analysis of nanoparticle size zeta potential count asymmetry and fluorescence in liquids particles 2008 ; particle synthesis characterization and particle based advanced materials 10 13 may 2008 wyndham orlando resort orlando florida . warren j and carr r 2007 application of nanoparticle tracking analysis to bionano systems 2nd international congress of nanobiotechnology & nanomedicine nanobio2007 san francisco usa june 19 2007 . the 4th business innovation awards deloitte fast 50 case study external links edit new scientist on nanosight malvern instruments website retrieved from https en.wikipedia.org w index.php title nanosight & oldid 679234784 categories microscopysub micron microscopynanotechnology companies navigation menu personal tools not logged intalkcontributionscreate accountlog in namespaces article talk variants views read edit view history more search navigation main pagecontentsfeatured contentcurrent eventsrandom articledonate to wikipediawikipedia store interaction helpabout wikipediacommunity portalrecent changescontact page tools what links hererelated changesupload filespecial pagespermanent linkpage informationwikidata itemcite this page print export create a bookdownload as pdfprintable version languages add links this page was last modified on 3 september 2015 at 08 59 . text is available under the creative commons attribution sharealike license ; additional terms may apply . by using this site you agree to the terms of use and privacy policy . wikipedia is a registered trademark of the wikimedia foundation inc. a non profit organization . privacy policy about wikipedia disclaimers contact wikipedia developers cookie statement mobile view