Interfacial Technologies Characterization Laboratory

McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario
What the facility does

Develop Bioactive paper products, measure nanoparticle and colloidal particle properties.

Areas of expertise

The SENTINEL Bioactive Paper Network is an initiative of NSERC and the Canadian paper industry to develop products that will improve human health in Canada and around the world. SENTINEL is working to create critical technology platforms that will lead to the commercial-scale production of bioactive papers that can detect, capture and deactivate water-borne and airborne pathogens.

Research services

Measures colloidal attachment to surfaces, monitors adsorption kinetics in real time, characterizes the interaction between a surface and a soluble species

Sectors of application
  • Chemical industries
  • Healthcare and social services

Specialized lab

Equipment

For papermaking and paper testing

 
  • Two handsheet machines
  • Labtech speed sheet dryer
  • Labtech automatic sheet press
  • Carver standard and heated presses
  • Canadian standard freeness tester
  • British disintegrator
  • TMI paper cutter
  • IDEAL paper cutter
  • HUYGEN internal bond tester
  • TMI digital caliper measurement
  • Instron 4411 universal tester
  • Technibrite Micro TB-1C brightness, opacity, colour and fluorescence tester
  • Labtech automatic beater (PFI type)
  • Britt dynamic drainage jar

For colloidal and nanoparticle preparation and characterization

 
  • Brookhaven dynamic light-scattering system with two-watt, argon-ion laser, variable-angle goniometer, BI-9000AT correlator
  • Brookhaven ZetaPALS microelectrophoresis apparatus
  • Zeiss Axioplan microscope with QImaging fluorescence and digital camera
  • MANTECH automatic titrator
  • BTG particle-charge detector PCD-03
  • Malvern Mastersizer
  • Beckman L7-55 preparative ultracentrifuge
  • Beckman Allegra™ 25R bench centrifuge
  • ATS RheoSystems Stresstech HR-controlled stress rheometer
  • Brookhaven BI-DCP disc centrifuge particle sizer
  • Rank PDA2000 photometric dispersion analyzer

For surface characterization

 
  • Krüss DSA contact angle apparatus
  • Ramé-Hart contact angle apparatus
  • Wyko NT1100 optical profiling system
  • Brookhaven-Paar electrokinetic analyzer
  • Waterloo Digital Electronics Exacta 2000 faraday-modulated self-nulling ellipsometer

Other facilities

 
  • MicroCal VP-ITC (microcalorimeter)
  • Heto Drywinner freeze-dryer
  • Beckman Coulter 800 spectrophotometer (UV)
  • ESL-2CA cold-temperature and controlled-humidity chamber
  • SC Johnson
  • FPInnovations
  • Cascades
  • Stora Enso
  • OCE
  • NRC
  • Food Check Systems

Title

URL

Strips to test contaminated water

http://www.deccanherald.com/content/313626/strips-test-contaminated-water.html

Nano-tech promises smarter particles

http://www.deccanherald.com/content/313629/nano-tech-promises-smarter-particles.html