Image Credits: Hanna Kuprevich
Particle Testing Authority (PTA), a division of Micromeritics Instrument Corporation, now has expanded thermal analysis capabilities with addition of Bryan Shaw to its team. Shaw, who started his work in polymer research 17 years ago at Georgia Tech, brings extensive experience to PTA - formally known as Micromeritics Analytical Services (MAS) - in thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) for various applications, but especially for polymer characterization.
PTA General Manager, Greg Thiele, indicated they have been using thermal analysis to examine thermal stability and residual content in filtration and catalyst applications, but with Bryan’s in-depth background in polymer characterization, PTA can now utilize DSC and TGA to provide characterization services in a much wider scope of applications. More information can be found at particletesting.com/thermal-analysis
Thermal analysis complements the services that PTA already provides to its customers. In addition to physical properties such as size distribution, pore volume distribution, porosity, and density our pharmaceutical customers are also interested in polymorph analysis, eutectic purity and loss on drying of their APIs. Many of the materials we analyze are also polymeric, so employing TGA and DSC will allow us to provide our customers with compositional analysis and the identification and quantification of thermal transitions such as glass transition, melting point, curing, crystallization and decomposition.
Greg Thiele, General Manager, PTA
The Micromeritics division has recently bolstered its total capabilities with the edition of a Freeman Technology FT4 Powder Rheometer®, a universal powder tester, which uses bulk, dynamic flow, shear, and process methodologies to quantify powder properties in terms of flowability, aeration, permeability, compressibility, shear strength and wall friction.
Additionally, PTA acquired a Mastersizer 3000 from Malvern Panalytical to continually serve its customers with the most current particle sizing instrumentation available. Thiele added that PTA will be utilizing its expertise in method development and validation to perform method transfers and validations for customers who have (or will be) upgrading from the Mastersizer 2000 to the 3000.