(NIST: Gaithersburg, MD) -- As a result of a major interlaboratory study, the standards body ASTM International has been able to update its guidelines for a commonly used technique for measuring the size of nanoparticles in solutions. The study, which was organized principally by researchers from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the Nanotechnology Characterization Laboratory of the National Cancer Institute, enabled updated guidelines that now include statistically evaluated data on the measurement precisions achieved by a wide variety of laboratories applying the ASTM guide.

Data from the interlaboratory comparison gathered from 26 different laboratories will provide a valuable benchmark for labs measuring the sizes and size distribution of nanoparticles suspended in fluids—one of the key measurements in nanotechnology research, especially for biological applications, according to materials researcher Vince Hackley, who led the NIST portion of the study.

Size is an important characteristic of nanoparticles in a variety of potential uses, but particularly in biotech applications where they are being studied for possible use in cancer therapies. The size of a nanoparticle can significantly affect how cells respond to it. (See, for example “Study: Cells Selectively Absorb Short Nanotubes,” NIST Tech Beat, March 30, 2007.)

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