Revolutionary Dynamic Light Scattering instrument

Wyatt Technology Corporation launched its newest Dynamic Light Scattering (DLS) instrument, the DynaPro™ NanoStar™, at Pittcon 2009.

The NanoStar has been created to deliver optimum versatility and stability for the noninvasive characterisation of biomolecules and nanoparticles in solution.

Providing a number of advanced capabilities, the NanoStar surpasses the performance of conventional batch DLS instruments. Incorporating two distinctly dedicated light scattering detectors in its optical system, the NanoStar is capable of measuring both the hydrodynamic radius and absolute molecular weight of a sample simultaneously. The operating range of the detectors can be expanded by automatically attenuating the laser power from 100 to 10mW and adjusting a digital inline optical attenuator to achieve optimal signal level for the avalanche photo diode (APD).

The NanoStar offers a revolutionary temperature control capability for further characterisation of nanoparticles over the widest range and at the most precise temperatures ever available in batch DLS. The system’s temperature control system provides a range from 4ºC to 150ºC, with a temperature stability of better than 0.01ºC over the entire range. The proprietary thermal design changes temperatures as fast as 15ºC/min, stabilising at the temperature set point in minutes, with little overshoot, for the most precise thermal melt experiments possible. The NanoStar employs a custom-designed correlator with a 100 nsec sampling time, which is fast enough to capture all of the dynamics of diffusing particles from fewer than 0.5 nm to over 1μm. A total of 512 bins provide simultaneous measurements of the autocorrelation function from 100 nsec to one hour. This guarantees that polydisperse samples with a wide range of molecular sizes are accurately measured.

The NanoStar can also be coupled with Wyatt’s DAWN® HELEOS™ and miniDAWN™ TREOS™ multiangle light scattering (MALS) instruments for simultaneous on-line MALS and DLS characterisation.