EAG Laboratories, San Diego, Calif., announced a new addition to its wide range of analytical techniques, NanoIR capabilities. NanoIR combines the nanometer scale spatial resolving capabilities of atomic force microscopy (AFM) with the chemical characterizing capabilities of infrared spectroscopy.
With this new capability, EAG scientists can provide clients with:
- Simultaneous and correlative topographical, mechanical, and chemical information using a single tool
- Spectroscopic characterization of trace materials such as surface contaminants and thin coatings with a spatial resolution down to ~10 nm (100x better than EAG’s best current Raman capabilities)
- Complementary chemical information to existing microscopy and nanomechanical tools (AFM, SEM-EDS, TEM, NI, etc.)
NanoIR spectra collected from the corresponding-colored locations indicated in the AFM image. Heterogeneities shown in the spectra are consistent with the chemical map, where the intensity of the PLGA ester peak (~1760 cm-1) varies across the particle and an additional ester species is detected (1730 cm-1).
Image – Data examples of PLGA nanoparticles deposited on mica. AFM height image (left) with colored markers indicating the corresponding analytical locations where spectra were obtained. A single wavenumber chemical map (right) taken at 1760 cm-1 reveals the ester-rich regions are detected only from the particles and are absent from the mica substrate. The chemical map highlights additional nanoscale heterogeneities that exist within the particles.
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