The nCS1 by Spectradyne LLC is an innovative device for measurements of particle-size and -count in the size range 50 nm to 10 µm.

It operates on the basis of the Coulter principle, measuring suspensions of arbitrary polydispersity and particle type in a truly orthogonal method to light-based techniques within minutes. In contrary to the majority of light-based methods, the nCS1 delivers high-resolution particle distributions, instead of ensemble distributions. Measurements are accomplished with as little as 3 µL of suspension.

The nCS1 uses microfluidic resistive pulse sensing (MRPS) to deliver high resolution nanoparticle size and concentration. Like resistive pulse sensing, it uses an electrical method. The conducting fluid is electrically biased by voltage-bias electrodes, which causes an electric current to flow through the analyte, the fluidic resistor and the nanoconstriction. The passage of a particle through the nanoconstriction will cause the electrical resistance of the constriction to change. This leads to a change in the sensing voltage, which is proportional to particle size.

The nCS1 uses 5 different cartridges with different size nanoconstrictions, each optimized for a different size range. This enables the nCS1 to deliver high resolution particle sizes and concentrations for particles ranging 50 nm to 10 µm.