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Standard Reference Materials
for Particle Size Analysis

ISO Standards for Size Analysis | Particles with Certified Distributions Criteria for Inclusion on this page | Back to HOME PAGE

This Web page is hosted by the Particle Technology Forum (a division of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers). Its purpose is to provide a long-term, regularly-updated catalog of links to sources of Certified Reference Materials (CRMs) of particles that have certified size distributions. Suggestion: To search for a CRM made of a specific material use your browser search function. For example, using Internet Explorer, click on "Edit", then "Find on this Page", and then type the name of the material you are looking for.

International Standards for Particle Size Analysis The International Standards Organization (ISO)  develops and publishes standard procedures that are accepted by many governmental and commercial organizations as the basis for construction, production, and quality assurance. The ISO subcommittee on Size Analysis by Non-sieve Methods (ISO/TC 24/SC 4) has formulated standards for sizing by       gravity sedimentation = ISO 13317       centrifugal sedimentation = ISO 13318       electrical sensing zone = ISO 13319       laser diffraction = ISO 13320       photon correlation spectroscopy = ISO 13321       image analysis = ISO 13322       single particle light interaction = ISO 13323       x-ray scattering = ISO 13762 You may also search the ISO site using "particle size analysis". ISO standards often specify that size-measuring instruments should be calibrated by or checked against Certified Reference Materials (CRMs) of particles having certified size distributions. The International Standards Organization itself does not provide CRMs, so people who wish to calibrate their instruments must purchase themfrom commercial or government sources. The names and contact information for these sources change as new CRMs are developed. Consequently, a CRM source list provided in a printed ISO standard may not be helpful for locating a suitable source.

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Sources of Powders with Certified Size Distributions  Disclaimer: Inclusion of vendors is for informational purposes only and does not constitute or imply any endorsement of their products over others. Similarly, omission of vendors does not constitute or imply any criticism of their products compared to others. APPIE JAPAN JAPANESE INDESTRIAL STANDARD JIS Z 8901 defines 28 kinds of powders for industrial testing, such as abrasion or like tests of machinery, performance test of dust collectors, air filters and fuel or lubricant filters for engine. APPIE supplies 26 kinds of JIS test powders. These are well-characterized powders (in the 1.6 to 200 µm range) made of alumina, barium titanate, calcium carbonate, carbon black, fly ash, loam, quartz, soda-lime glass, and talc. Bangs Laboratories [Note: In 2003 July Bangs Laboratories became a wholly-owned subsidiary of Polysciences, Inc. ] Spheres from nanometers to millimeters in size     Narrow Size Distribution     Plain (Hydrophobic) Polystyrene Microspheres       Other Polymer Microspheres       Plain (Hydrophilic) Silica Microspheres     Carboxylate-Modified Silica Microspheres       NIST-Traceable Microsphere Kits       NIST-Traceable Microsphere in Bulk       Polydisperse Polymer Beads (Large) Porous Beads   Microspheres with Various Surface Chemistries       Carboxylate-Modified Microspheres       Amino-Modified Microspheres       Preactivated Microspheres       Other Functionalized Microspheres   Colored Microspheres     Dyed Polystyrene and Other Polymer Microspheres       Dyed Carboxylate-Modified Microspheres       Dyed Amino-Modified Microspheres       Dyed Other-Modified Microspheres   Fluorescent Microspheres     Fluorescent Polystyrene and Other Polymer Microspheres       Fluorescent Carboxylate-Modified Microspheres       Fluorescent Amino-Modified Microspheres       Fluorescent Other-Modified Microspheres   estapor® SuperParaMagnetic Microspheres (US and Canada)       Classical Magnetic Microspheres       Encapsulated Magnetic Microspheres       Special Magnetic Microspheres   ProActive® Protein-activated or -Coated Microspheres     ProActive Microspheres   Duke Scientific Co. narrow size distribution       polystyrene latices: series from 0.020 to 0.9 µm       silica spheres: a series from 0.5-1.5 µm       polystyrene latices: series from 1 to 1,000 µm broad size distribution       soda glass spheres: series from 2-2,000 µm Microspheres-Nanospheres Co. narrow size distribution       alumina: 80 NIST-traceable dispersions in sizes from 100 nm to 100 µm       polystyrene and cross-linked Melamine: NIST-traceable dispersions in sizes from 0.1 to 15 µm       silica: 80 NIST-traceable dispersions in sizes from 50 nm to 100 µm National Institute of Science and Technology (U.S.) narrow size distribution       polystyrene latices: about 0.1, 0.3, 3, 10, and 30 µm broad size distribution       silicon nitride (not spheres): 0.2-10 µm       soda glass spheres: 10-60, 40-170, 100-400, 220-750, 750-2450 µm       zirconium oxide (not spheres): 0.3-2 µm, 10-150 µm Polysciences, Inc. paramagnetic microspheres with a polystyrene surface and fluorescent particles. NIST Traceable Particle Size Standards are dispersions of polystyrene microspheres that have been measured on in-house instruments calibrated with NIST (National Institute of Standards and Technology) Standard Reference Materials. They are produced with a narrow size distribution and offered in many sizes. Each product is supplied with a Certificate of Analysis. The size, standard deviation, coefficient of variation, and lot number are printed on the label for easy reference. They are packaged in convenient, easy to use 15ml dropper bottles at 1% solids (w/v) in an aqueous suspension. Nanobead Standards: 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, 90, 100, 125, 150, 200, 250, 300, 350, 400, 450, 500, 550, 600, 650, 700, 750, 800, 850, 900 and 950nm Microbead Standards: 1.00, 1.25, 1.75, 2.00, 2.50, 3.00, 3.50,4.00, 5.00, 6.00, 7.00, 8.00, and 9.00 µm Megabead Standards: 10.0, 12.0, 15.0, 20.0, 25.0, 30.0, 40.0, 50.0, 60.0, 80.0, 100.0, 125.0, 150.0, and 175.0µm Polybead® Polystyrene Microspheres - in aqueous suspension and dry form Polystyrene Microspheres, Functionalized     Amino Microspheres     Carboxylate Microspheres     Carboxy-Sulfate Microspheres     Hydroxylate Microspheres     Sulfate Microspheres     Chloromethyl Microspheres Fluorescent Microspheres     Fluoresbrite® Fluorescent Polystyrene Latex Microspheres     Fluoresbrite® Fluorescent Carboxylate Microspheres     Fluoresbrite® Multifluorescent Microspheres     Polymerizable Fluorescent Microspheres FlowCheck® Microspheres     Dyed Polystyrene Microspheres     Dyed Carboxylate Microspheres     Protein Bound Microspheres     Biotin Coated Microspheres     Streptavidin Coated Microspheres Kits for Flow Cytometry     Polystyrene, Amino, Carboxylate Sampler     Fluorescent Size Range     Fluorescent Flow Cytometer Calibration Grade     Dyed Sampler     Protein Coupling for large and small Microspheres Superparamagnetic Particles Additional Polymer Microspheres     Biodegradable     Acrylate     Crosslinked Melamine     Hollow     Polymethyl methacrylate     Polyballs (polypropylene, polyethylene, Teflon, polystyrene)     Inorganic Particles (glass, silica)     Natural Biological Particles (pollen, lycopodium) Reade Advanced Materials has an extensive line of (primarily inorganic) powders: metals, metal oxides, sulfides, sulfates, carbonates, silicates, etc. Whitehouse Scientific Monosphere Standards Intermediate Standards Broad Range Standards Ultra-wide Range Standards Single Sieve Standards Wide Ranage Sieving Standards General Purpose Sieve Fractions

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Criteria for Inclusion  A vendor who wishes to have products listed here should meet the following criteria: Use a powder or slurry whose physical parameters (density, refractive index, etc.) are known and uniform for all particles in the sample. Measure and certify the particle size distribution using a clearly defined technique -- preferably a method that allows tracing the certification to primary standards Sell the standard reference material to anyone who wishes to buy it. Do not limit sales to members of a specific organization or nation. Provide the buyer with a certificate listing the physical parameters (density, refractive index, etc.) and the particle size distribution so that data reduction programs in the size analysis instruments can be provided with accurate values for these parameters. If you wish to have your products included on this Web page send a note describing your standard reference materials along with the URL of your Web site (or your mailing address) to the PTF Web site manager (see below).

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