Non-contact microsphere ultrafast laser nanopatterning technology

In recent decades, the development of nano-fabrication technology is driven by the need to increase the density of components and performance, which requires high accuracy in material processing and the capability of manufacturing ...

New model found for microsphere-enhanced interferometry

Optical measurement techniques collecting light intensity in the far-field such as conventional and confocal microscopy or coherence scanning interferometry (CSI) enable fast and contactless inspection of several types of ...

Overcoming the optical resolution limit

When measuring with light, the lateral extent of the structures that can be resolved by an optical imaging system is fundamentally diffraction limited. Overcoming this limitation is a topic of great interest in recent research, ...

Glass microspheres aren't the answer for saving Arctic sea ice

A proposal to cover Arctic sea ice with layers of tiny hollow glass spheres about the thickness of one human hair would actually accelerate sea-ice loss and warm the climate rather than creating thick ice and lowering the ...

Injectable microspheres to repair failing hearts

Biodegradable microspheres can be used to deliver heart cells generated from stem cells to repair damaged hearts after a heart attack, according to new findings by UCL researchers. This type of cell therapy could one day ...

Uncovering microgel mysteries

Researchers at Shinshu University successfully recorded previously unexplained behavior of hydrogel microspheres (microgels) using a newly customized tool: temperature-controlled high-speed atomic force microscopy (TC HS ...

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Microsphere

Microsphere are small spherical particles, with diameters in the micrometer range (typically 1 μm to 1000 μm (1 mm)). Microspheres are sometimes referred to as microparticles.

Microspheres can be manufactured from various natural and synthetic materials. Glass microspheres, polymer microspheres and ceramic microspheres are commercially available. Solid and hollow microspheres vary widely in density and, therefore, are used for different applications. Hollow microspheres are typically used as additives to lower the density of a material. Solid microspheres have numerous applications depending on what material they are constructed of and what size they are.

Polyethylene and polystyrene microspheres are two most common types of polymer microspheres.

Polystyrene microspheres are typically used in biomedical applications due to their ability to facilitate procedures such as cell sorting and immunio precipitation. Proteins and ligands adsorb onto polystyrene readily and permanently, which makes polystyrene microspheres suitable for medical research and biological laboratory experiments.

Polyethylene microspheres are commonly used as a permanent or temporary filler. Lower melting temperature enables polyethylene microspheres to create porous structures in ceramics and other materials. High sphericity of polyethylene microspheres, as well as availability of colored and fluorescent microspheres, makes them highly desirable for flow visualization and fluid flow analysis, microscopy techniques, health sciences, process troubleshooting and numerous research applications. Charged polyethylene microspheres are also used in electronic paper digital displays.

Glass microspheres are primarily used as a filler and volumizer for weight reduction, retro-reflector for highway safety, additive for cosmetics and adhesives, with limited applications in medical technology.

Ceramic microspheres are used primarily as grinding media.

Microspheres vary widely in quality, sphericity, uniformity, particle size and particle size distribution. The appropriate microsphere needs to be chosen for each unique application.

This text uses material from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA