Nano and Pico Characterization (NPC) Laboratory
The NPC Technology Center offers a curated collection of high-end scientific instrumentation to enable the physicochemical characterization of nanoscale materials, devices, and systems under a wide range of experimental conditions. Our technical capabilities and expertise include surface analysis by Scanning Probe Microscopy (SPM); hydrodynamic size and surface charge analysis by Dynamic Light Scattering (DLS) and Zeta Potential (ZP) measurements; elemental and chemical analysis by Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS).
Application Areas:
- Biomaterials
- Semiconductors and devices
- Energy harvesting/storage
- (Nano)drug delivery
- Environment
- Food
Physicochemical Properties:
- Surface analysis
- Topography & roughness
- Electrical & magnetic
- Mechanical
- Shape, size, dispersity
- Dissolution kinetics
- Compositional and isotopic analysis
Available Instruments:
- Scanning Probe Microoscopy
- Optical Profilometry
- Dynamic Light Scattering
- Electrokinetic Analysis
- Zeta Potential
- ICP – Optical Emmision Spectrometry
- ICP – Mass Spectrometry
Featured News
CNSI NPC and Anton Parr Present: Rheology and Solid Surface Zeta Potential Theory and Applications
Rheology is simply defined as the study of flow and deformation behaviors. This field is used to describe a vast array of materials, ranging for ideal liquids to semi-solids to ideal solids. Liquids or visco-elastic liquids, are materials that flow when subjected to a deformation or flow condition.
March 23, 2023 | CNSI adds new capabilities to probe the mechanical properties of materials
An Anton Paar Modular Compact Rheometer 302 (MCR 302) has been recently validated and added to the resources at the Nano and Pico Characterization Laboratory, one of six open-access CNSI Technology Centers. The MCR 302 is available to researchers from UCLA, other...
August 16, 2022 | Bruin biophysicist’s research pushes forward development of cultured meat
Now an associate professor of integrative biology and physiology and the holder of UCLA’s Marcie H. Rothman Presidential Chair in Food Studies, CNSI member Amy Rowat has spiced up both her pedagogy and her research with her gastronomic interests. She is founding...
May 3, 2022 | UCLA researchers develop non-destructive image processing method for advanced cancer research
A team led by Professor Shimon Weiss and former PhD student Arkaprabha Basu has developed an image processing technique, SPOCC, which quantifies cytoskeletal properties using microscopic images. UCLA researchers develop non-destructive...
February 23, 2022 | Advanced mass spectrometer comes to the CNSI Nano and Pico Characterization Lab
A resource new to UCLA’s Nano and Pico Characterization Laboratory (NPC) will offer researchers the opportunity to interrogate the physical and chemical properties of materials down to the nanoscale and beyond. Advanced mass spectrometer...
February 7, 2022 | Sweating the small stuff: Smartwatch developed at UCLA measures key stress hormone
Now, a UCLA research team has developed a device that could be a major step forward: a smartwatch that assesses cortisol levels found in sweat — accurately, noninvasively and in real time. Described in a study published in Science Advances, the technology could offer wearers the ability to read and react to an essential biochemical indicator of stress.