PARTICLE SIZE ANALYZER Introduction: It is essential to analyze the size of particle which we are using in various filed.

There are two possibilities such as chemical and physical measurement. The laser diffraction method of detection is a physical measurement. Principle of Diffracted light scattering Diffracted light patterns can combine to reinforce or cancel light waves When the laser beam illuminates a particle, the beam is scattered by the particle. The scattering light pattern depends on the particle size. This pattern can be determined with the diameter of a particle, transparency of a particle, refractive index of a particle and a fluid, and the wavelength of incidence light. Laser diffraction based on the size of the analyzing particle with its scattering angle and scattering intensity. The size of the particle is inversely proportional to the angel of scattering light logarithmically. Features Laser diffraction method is a mainstream in the industry. Measuring range is very wide (from "nm" to "mm" order). It realizes in high resolution,

short time and high repeatability measurement. Both wet and dry can be measured. It can be applied to various applications. ELECTRON MICROSCOPY & X-RAY TECHNIQUES FIELD EMISSION - SCANNING ELECTRON MICROSCOPY Introduction: Electron Microscopes are scientific instruments that use a beam ol highly enert electrons to examine objects on a very fine scale. This examination can yield informa about the topography (surface features of an object), morphology (shape and size of particles making up the object), composition (the elements and compounds that the obj& composed of and the relative amounts of them) and crystallographic information (how atoms are arranged in the object). Principle: In SEM, a source of electrons is focused in vacuum into a fine probe that is pas over the surface of the specimen. The electron beam passes through scan coils and objec lens that deflect horizontally and vertically so that the beam scans the surface of the sam As the electrons penetrate the surface, a number of interactions occur that can result in emission of electrons or photons from or through the surface. In this way an image produced; every point that the beam strikes on the sample is mapped directly

onti corresponding point on the screen. SEM works on a voltage between 2 to 50kV and its be diameter that scans the specimen is 5nm-2u.m. The principle images produced in SEM an three types: secondary electron images, backscattered electron images and elemental X-maps. Secondary and backscattered electrons are conventionally separated according to tl energies. When the energy of the emitted electron is less than about 50eV, it is referred as ; secondary electron and backscattered electrons are considered to be the electrons that exit the specimen with energy greater than 50eV. Detectors of each type of electrons are placed in the microscope in proper positions to collect them. Applications: In bhasma preparation the changes occurred in surface morphology during stage wise transformation can be studied. By Energy dispersive x-ray analysis, we can find out the elements present in the sample qualitatively.

X-Ray Fluorescence Spectroscopy Introduction The purpose of X-ray fluorescence is to determine chemical elements both qualitatively and quantitatively by measuring their characteristic radiation. In this process, the chemical elements in a sample are passed through X-rays. As characteristic X-rays only arise in the transition of atomic shell electrons to lower, vacant energy levels of the atom, a method must be applied that is suitable for releasing electrons from the innermost shell of an atom. This involves adding to the inner electrons amounts of energy that are higher than the energy bond of the atom. This can be done in a number ways: Irradiation using elementary particles of sufficient energy (electrons, protons, u-particles, etc.) that transfer the energy necessary for releasing the atomic shell electrons during collision processes Irradiation using X- or gamma rays from radionuclides

Irradiation using X-rays from an X-ray tube

 The energy of an X-ray corresponds to the difference in energy of the energy levels concerned elements. K-radiation is the term given to the radiation released when replenishing the K-shell, L-radiation to that released when replenishing the L-shell etc. Also needed for the full labeling of the emitted X-ray line is the information telling us which shell the electron filling the "hole" comes from. The Greek letters ... are used for this with the numbering 1, 2, 3, ... to differentiate between the various shells and sub-levels. Principle: An inner shell electron is excited by an incident photon. During the de-excitation process, an electron is moving from the higher energy level to fill the energy created by ejection. The energy difference between the two shells appears as an x-ray emitted by the atom. The x-ray spectrum acquired during the above process reveals a number of

characteristic peaks. The energy of the" peaks leads to the identification of the elements present in the sample.

Application X-Ray fluorescence is used in a wide range of applications. X-Ray fluorescence is particularly well-suited for investigations that involve, Bulk chemical analyses of major and trace elements in traditional preparations and plants X-ray fluorescence is limited to analysis of

Relatively large samples, typically > 1 gram Materials that can be prepared in powder form and effectively homogenized materials for which compositionally similar, wellcharacterized standards are available materials containing high abundances of elements for which absorption and fluorescence effects are reasonably well understood

Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FT-IR) Introduction FTIR is the acronym for Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy. FTIR is a spectroscopic technique that utilizes lower energy radiation to induce vibrational and rotational excitation of atoms and groups of atoms within molecules. Because of the variety of symmetry of atomic groups and

their differences in atomic masses and electronic structure, the absorption patterns for a specific species will be unique, which allows for their identification. Infrared spectroscopic technique is the most popular vibrational spectroscopic technique used to identify the functional groups in organic and inorganic compounds. IR spectroscopic technique utilizes lower energy IR radiation (10000-100 cm-1) to induce vibrational and rotational excitation of atoms and groups of atoms within a molecule. Because of the variety of symmetry of atomic groups and their differences in atomic masses . nic structures, the absorption patterns for a specific species will be unique, which r their identification. The near-IR (12800-4000 cm-1), mid-IR (4000200 cm-1), and iI R (200-10 cm-1) regions are used to probe different vibrational modes. Absorption of the mid- IR (4000- 400 cm-1) region is due to combination of interacting vibrational modes, allows for unique fingerprinting of molecular species. Infra red spectroscopy is the study of the reflected, absorbed or transmitted radiant energy in the region of electromagnetic spectrum with ranging wavelength from 0.8 to 500nm. A more commonly used

measurement is the frequency and is expressed in wavenumber.The I.R spectrum is.usually divided into three regions namely -near I.R. (12500 to

4000 cm -1), mid I.R (4000 to 400 cm-1) and far I.R. (400-20 cm-1). Only the mid I.R region is usually referred to simply as infra red and is widely used in the analysis of drugs and pharmaceuticals. Fourier transform spectrophotometer is the recent advancement in the field of Infra Red spectroscopy, which has a number of advantages over dispersive instruments. They can be scanned quickly. Principle IR Interacts with the sample and the bonds between atoms in the

molecule stretch and bend, absorbing infrared energy and creating the infrared spectrum. It is of two types bending and Stretching.

Stretching.

Symmetric Stretch Asymmetric Stretch Bending Scissoring Rocking Wagging Twisting Applications The wide spread use of I.R spectroscopy is for the identification of drugs, polymorphic modifications, excipients and raw materials used in pharmaceutical manufacturing. This is mainly due to its sensitivity and the ease with which spectra can be obtained on any type of sample including insoluble solids, polymers, solutions, gases. Identical I.R spectra of two samples (super imposable spectra) are very good evidence that the two samples have the same chemical structure. I.R spectrometric analysis is a very useful tool in the detection of functional groups of bio molecules, thus aiding in their structural elucidation, thereby confirming the presence of

active molecules responsible for the therapeutic activity of Ayurvedic & Siddha drugs. It can also be used in the understanding of complex formation of different metals with phytoconstituents during

Absorption Absorption of cinnabar (0.2%) from the gastrointestinal tract is much less than mercuric chloride (7-15%), and methyl mercury ( >95%). Oral administration of powered cinnabar or mercury sulfide to mice resulted in 10- to 100-fold less tissue mercury accumulation as compared to the similar dose given as mercuric chloride either acutely (21), or chronically (18). When powdered cinnabar or mercury sulfide-containing diet was given to mice for 5 days, less than 0.02% of the dose was found in the kidney and liver (22). In general, bioavailability of cinnabar is 30- to 60-fold less than mercuric chloride (23). In comparison to methyl mercury, oral cinnabar or mercury sulfide administration results in at least 1000-fold less tissue mercury accumulation in mice (24-27), and in rats (28). Synthetic mercury sulfide was reported to have better bioavailability than cinnabar in mice (18, 21), but in other studies, synthetic mercury sulfide was reported to have less oral bioavailability than cinnabar in mice (27) and in guinea pigs (29). This discrepancy could be due to differences in cinnabar processing methods, as well as to animal species or strain variation. Nonetheless, both crude cinnabar and synthetic mercury sulfide have very low oral bioavailability and are poorly absorbed from the gastrointestinal tract as compared to mercuric chloride and methyl mercury, but are better than liquid elementary

mercury (less than 0.01%). Mercury vapor is readily absorbed (80%) through diffusion in the lungs. When cinnabar is heated, mercury vapor is released, and is easily absorbed to produce local and systemic toxicity. This is why in Pharmacopeia of China (1), heating cinnabar is restricted. Cinnabar is not used in injectable preparations. Little is known about cinnabar absorption via the skin, or from parenteral administration. Distribution and biotransformation The distribution of mercury from absorbed cinnabar basically follows the distribution pattern for inorganic mercurials. The highest concentration of mercury is found in kidney, a major target of inorganic mercury exposure. Renal uptake of mercury salts is through two routes: from luminal membranes in renal proximal tubule in the form of the cysteine S-conjugates or from the basolateral membrane through organic anion transporters Inorganic mercury salts do not readily pass blood-brain barrier or placenta. However, a small portion of absorbed inorganic mercury can be reduced in tissues and exhaled as mercury vapor. A significant portion of mercury vapor crosses the blood-brain barrier and placenta before it is re-oxidized to divalent inorganic mercury by tissue and erythrocyte catalase Oral cinnabar or synthetic mercury sulfide administration results in brain distribution (about 10% of renal accumulation), mainly to the cerebral cortex and

cerebellum. Accumulation of mercury from cinnabar in liver ranged from 5% to 50% of that in kidneys depending on experimental conditions. In comparison, methyl mercury is more uniformly distributed to various tissues upon absorption. Methyl mercury is bound to thiol-containing molecules such as cysteine, which mimic methionine to cross the blood-brain barrier and placenta through the neutral amino acid carrier Methyl mercury is slowly metabolized to inorganic mercury by microflora in intestine (about 1 % of the body burden per day), resulting in increased kidney accumulation. In the Chinese literature, it is assumed that cinnabar could be converted to methyl mercury in the intestine under anaerobic conditions at pH 7 However, no evidence is available to support this assumption. Unlike arsenic methylation reactions, mercury methylation reaction does not occur in humans, and little is known about biotransformation of inorganic mercurial salts to methyl mercury in the body; instead, intestinal bacteria can convert methyl mercury to inorganic mercury. From over 1000- to 5000-fold

differences in bioavailability between cinnabar and methyl mercury, such assumed reaction, if it exits, is very minor accounting for less than 0.02% of dosed cinnabar.

Inorganic mercury salts non-uniformly distributed to kidney and are excreted in urine and feces, with a half-life of about 2 months. Methyl mercury undergoes extensive enterohepatic recycling which can be interrupted to enhance fecal excretion. 90% of the methyl mercury is eliminated from the body in the feces, and less than 10% is in the urine, with a half life of 45-70 days. It is quite clear that solubility and bioavailability of cinnabar is quite different from mercury vapor, mercuric chloride, and methyl mercury. The bioavailability is a critical determinant of toxicity of mercurial compounds. Thus, it is not surprising that cinnabar has quite different toxicology potentials from common mercurials. To better understand toxicokinetics of cinnabar is very important for appropriate safety assessment of mineral cinnabar used in traditional medicines.