Nanoparticle Tracking Analysis
Nanoparticle Tracking Analysis (NTA) is an analytical technique for characterizing nanoparticles suspended in liquid, typically from about 10 nm up to several micrometers. In NTA, a laser beam illuminates particles in a fluid sample, and the light they scatter is recorded by a high-sensitivity CMOS camera. Each particle’s random Brownian motion is tracked over time, and the tracks are analyzed to calculate the diffusion coefficient. Using the Stokes-Einstein equation, this diffusion information is converted into precise particle diameters and yields a size distribution. Because NTA tracks individual particles rather than ensemble averages, it can resolve heterogeneous mixtures that other methods may miss.
In addition to particle size, NTA instruments measure particle concentration directly by counting tracked particles within a defined volume. Additionally, fluorescence detection is integrated to selectively analyze labelled subpopulations. An advanced feature is the colocalization module (often termed C-NTA). With two excitation lasers and synchronized fluorescence detection, this module detects two fluorescent labels on the same nanoparticle. This allows researchers to quantify how often different biomarkers coincide on single particles — for example, identifying subpopulations of particles/vesicles that carry specific combinations of surface proteins.
Determination of:
- Number averaged hydrodynamic Radius Rh
- Particle concentration per mL
- Fraction of single/double labeled particles
Equipment:
- ZetaView® TWIN System (Particle Metrix GmbH)
- laser excitation wavelengths: 488 nm / 640 nm
| Contact: | Sandra Seywald | Ute Heinz | |
| Phone: | 06131-379 - 227 | 06131-379 - 533 |