Everything about microspheres and research utilizing precision spherical particles.

Technical Properties of PMMA Microspheres

PMMA Microspheres - Technical Specifications

In this article we will discuss the applications and technical properties of PMMA microspheres. What are PMMA Microspheres? PMMA micropsheres are also known as Poly(methyl methacrylate) or acrylic microspheres. PMMA, an ester of methacrylic acid (CH2=C[CH3]CO2H), is a synthetic resin produced from the polymerization of methyl methacrylate. Ever since PMMA resin was discovered and first … Read more

Microspheres in Cosmetics – Solid Polymer Microspheres for Color Effects

A recent article on microspheres in Cosmetics & Toiletries magazine describes the use Solid Polyethylene Mirospheres for Effects in Color Cosmetics. Microspheres have been used in cosmetics for some time, primarily as fillers and exfoliators. Most recently scientists started to utilize light reflecting properties of microspheres for creating unique optical effects, such as optical blurring … Read more

Cosmetic Applications of Injectable Polymer Microspheres

Polymer microspheres, in particular injectable polymer particles with a diameter in the range of 30-300um, are becoming widely used as a biomaterial in different clinical fields, such as cosmetic surgery, reconstructive surgery, and urology. Injectable skin fillers offer many benefits in cosmetic dermatology, allowing new forms of facial rejuvenation and wrinkle treatment without surgery. Injectable … Read more

Motivations for Using Biodegradable Microspheres in Drug Delivery

In recent years there is significant interest in using biodegradable polymeric microspheres for drug delivery. Delivering drugs through biodegradable microspheres has numerous advantages compared to conventional delivery systems. While in conventional systems the drug is usually released shortly after delivery and stops working after a brief period of time, biodegradable polymer offers a way to provide sustained release over a longer time, thus eliminating the need for multiple doses and ensuring sustained and controlled drug delivery over weeks or months.

Porous Ceramics: Application for Polyethylene Microspheres

Background:

Usually porous ceramics are made from aluminum oxide, silicon carbide or Zirconia.? Most porous ceramics have a natural ability to fill pores by capillary action. This makes porous ceramics water accepting, thus they also are referred to as hydrophilic material. This means the pores and channels of a ceramic have a highly charged pore surface that attracts and bonds the polar molecules of water and other polar fluids. The net effect is called “wicking” — the ability to pull fluids into the material and transport that fluid by capillary forces.? The pore size directly affects the ceramic’s air entry or bubbling pressure and hydraulic conductivity. The effective pore size is determined by the minimum orifice within a channel or pore.1

Some porous ceramic have 40-50% open porosity with a tortuous pore structure and is available in pore sizes ranging from 0.25 to 90 microns. Monolithic, single grade, aluminum oxide porous ceramic is available in 6, 15, 30, 50, 60 and 90 micron pore sizes. In addition, some ceramic membranes can use a medium pore substrate with a thin coating of fine porous ceramic membrane in 0.25, 1, 3 and 6 micron pore sizes.2

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Microspheres for Coatings Applications (Opaque Polyethylene)

Microspheres are well known in the coatings industry for their use as low-surface-area fillers that offer benefits in viscosity and density control, solids content, application and flow characteristics.

Hemispherically Coated Spheres

Cospheric LLC, a Santa Barbara-based microtechnology company, recently launched a line of opaque polyethylene microspheres that act as a superior opacifying agent and provide maximum hiding power with just one monolayer of microspheres as small as 40 microns in diameter. Microspheres are manufactured in any color imaginable and even in combinations of two differently colored hemispheres.

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Fluorescent Tracer Microspheres – Properties and Applications

Fluorescent Tracer Particles

Fluorescent microspheres are round spherical particles that emit bright colors when illuminated by UV light. Ability to emit intense color under UV (black light) illumination provides contrast and visibility of microspheres relative to background materials.

Biodegradable microspheres for vitreoretinal drug delivery

One of the microsphere topics that seems to be growing these days is biodegradability.? For those of you who are unfamiliar with the topic an excellent introductory article can be found in: Advance Drug Delivery Reviews 52 (2001) 5-16, called “Biodegradable microspheres for vitreoretinal drug delivery.”? The article does a good job describing the advantages of the various polymers available, such as poly(lactic acid) [PLA], poly(glycolic acid) [PGA], and its copolymer poly(lactic-coglycolic) acid [PLGA].

The article also recommends the prefered sterlization method for drug delivery (the authors recommend irradiation).

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Exfoliating Beads: Clinical Study

Exfoliating beads have a long history in cosmetics, but we are unaware of previous studies on the effect of their regular use. A clinical study with 10 subjects shows that regular exfoliation leads to a reduction in the cell turnover time of the stratum corneum (SC) by about 15% (significant at the 95% level)