Microspheres Online

Everything about microspheres and research utilizing precision spherical particles.

High Index of Refraction Retroreflective Glass Microspheres

Barium Titanate Glass Microspheres are excellent for use as a functional retro reflective additive to paints and coatings. Spheres with sizes of about 50 micron (~0.002 inches) mean diameter provide a small enough size for most coatings while offering a large enough size to reflective a significant amount of light. Barium Titanate Glass Spheres are offered in both partially aluminum coated retro-reflective version for addition into transparent coatings, or as uncoated glass spherical powder for uses in colored paints.

Advantages of Borosilicate Glass Microspheres in 0.03mm to 0.2mm sizing

Borosilicate Glass Microbeads
BSGMS 63-75 micron at 40x magnification

High quality glass microspheres for research and development are always in high demand.? In an effort to better serve scientists Cospheric recently added a complete line of high quality borosilicate microspheres, and microbeads.

Borosilicate glass offers? advantages over standard soda lime glass microbeads.

  • Roundness is >90%?? (Soda lime >85%)
  • Density is the lowest of most glasses at 2.2g/cc? (Soda Lime 2.5g/cc)
  • Very low thermal expansion coefficient? 32×10-7/?C?? (for 30-300?C)?? (Soda Lime:? 90×10-7/?C)

The high roundness, and low thermal expansion make borosilicate spheres an excellent candidate for use as spacers in epoxy bond lines, or other applications which require stability over a wide temperature range.

Borosilicate glass spheres are now offered in narrow size ranges from 0.03mm to 0.2mm with greater than 90% of the particles in range.

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Neutrally Buoyant Particles – What Are They, What Are They Used For, How to Use Them?

Suspension of microspheres in water enables the visualization and characterization of fluid flow and testing the capability of devices to withstand particulate matter in the fluid stream, ensuring that microspheres do not settle and do not float on the surface. Most of these polymer microspheres are at least moderately opaque and clearly visible in water, clear or translucent liquids.

Microspheres in Medical Devices – MDDI Magazine

What are Microspheres?

The Microsphere of Influence

Published on MDDI Magazine
By: Yelena Lipovetskaya

Why Use Microspheres in Medical Devices?

Properties of Microspheres - Composition
Microspheres in Medical Devices

Microspheres are round microparticles that typically range from 1 to 1000 micron in diameter. Benefits of microspheres in medical devices, pharmaceuticals, and cosmetics are well known due to the microspheres’ ability to encapsulate and deliver active materials. However, there are many other lesser known advantages and functionalities of using micropsheres in medical device design, quality control, manufacturing, and testing.

The typical manufacturing process involves the microencapsulation of a drug or an active cosmetic ingredient to protect it from the deteriorating effects of the environment or for optimal release and performance in the final product. Active ingredients are released by dissolution of the capsule walls, mechanical rupture (rubbing, pressure, or impact), melting, or digestion processes. The resulting particles are often called microcapsules, which are different from solid, non-deformable microspheres.

Solid microspheres are widely used as fillers and spacers in a variety of industries. Microspheres that are used to manufacture and test medical devices are typically solid particles that are made from robust and stable raw materials such as polymers, glass, and in some cases, ceramics. Different types and grades of microspheres are available and selected based on specific application requirements.

Solid microspheres in medical devices are often used as tracers and challenge particles. In these situations, it is beneficial to use larger microspheres with sphere diameters greater than 50 micron that are vividly colored (red, blue, black, yellow, or green), since they provide contrast with the background material and visibility to the naked eye in daylight.

Colored microspheres are typically used in the testing of filtration media and systems, vial and container cleaning evaluations, flow tracing and fluid mechanics, centrifugation and sedimentation processes, pharmaceutical manufacturing, and contamination control.

Fluorescent microspheres are recommended for applications that require the use of particles that emit distinctive colors when illuminated by UV light and offer additional sensitivity for observation through the use of microscopes, lasers, and other analytical methods. Examples include microcirculation and biological research, imaging, and flow cytometry. Fluorescent microspheres can be excited and detected by a wide range of methods and are useful as experimental particles for acoustical and optical analytical systems.

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Microspheres: Technologies and Global Markets

An extensive market research report titled Microspheres: Technologies and Global Markets was recently published by BCC Research marketing firm. The microspheres report examines the spherical microparticles used as components in many advanced materials and composites, in the healthcare and personal care industries, and in many specialty research and development applications. The report estimates the size … Read more

Silica Microspheres – 6 micron mean Diameter

Silica is a chemically stable inorganic synthetic material. It has the benefit of providing no irritation to human skin. Silica is essentially transparent, colorless and promote a high degree of slip in products. The skin feel is generally lubricious in nature. Spherical silica imparts exceptional lubricity to loose and pressed powder products. The effect is increased ‘play time’ and a luxurious feel. Spherical products with mean particle size between 3 to 10 micron will scatter light on the surface of its particle, ie which are transparent, but give natural coverage.

Monodisperse – Spacer Grade Microspheres

Scientists are constantly looking for narrower particle size distributions (monodispersed) of microspheres to help increase the consistency and correlation between theoretical models and verification experiments.? In an effort to fill the increasing demand for these particles Cospheric has launched a new line of spacer grade microspheres. Monodisperse microspheres are currently offered in diameters of:?? 21-24um, … Read more

Patent Review: Use of Adsorbent Carbon Microspheres for Treatment of Irritable Bowel Syndrome

One embodiment disclosed herein includes a method of treating one or more symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome by administering to the subject adsorbent carbon microspheres with a particle size of 0.01mm to about 2 mm to reduce the abdominal discomfort or pain. In one embodiment, the amount of the adsorbent carbon microspheres is sufficient to achieve at least about a 50% reduction in the number of days the subject experiences abdominal pain or discomfort.

Patent Review: Preparation of Swellable and Deformable Microspheres

United States Patent number 7,794,755 was issued on September 14, 2010, describing the process for preparation of swellable and deformable microspheres. The patent is assigned to E.I. du Pont de Nemours and cites Figuly, Mahajan, and Schiffino as inventors.

ParaMagnetic Microspheres

These highly spherical polyethylene microspheres offer the flow-ability of standard microspheres, with the ability to be separated from other materials for re-use and cleanup.