​The regulations that govern the use of nanomaterials require businesses to report the nano-substances they use to the relevant authorities each year. To complete the filing, businesses must be able to accurately characterize their materials. Liten, a CEA Tech institute, is a leader in nanocharacterization, and is now making its state-of-the-art nanoparticle measurement equipment and know-how available to businesses for their regulatory compliance needs. 

Nanomaterials are defined as materials whose size or structure includes at least one dimension of between approximately 1 and 100 nanometers. At this size, materials can have unique physical, chemical, or biological properties. However, measuring materials at the nano scale with precision is challenging, and there is no standard method. Researchers at Liten’s PNS* and PFNC** performed a series of comparisons of various measurement techniques used on substances from the very simple to the highly complex (isolated nano-objects, aggregates, etc.). The results were compared with those obtained using different measurement techniques on reference samples provided by LNE, France’s national testing and metrology lab.

The research resulted in a set of repeatable, reliable protocols in established in accordance with France’s main testing and metrology stakeholders.

*PNS: Nanosafety Platform

**PFNC: Nanocharacterization platform