Archive for the ‘Hollow Glass Microspheres’ Category

Hollow glass microspheres are a type of buoyancy material commonly used in deep sea applications. These microspheres are tiny, hollow glass beads that are extremely lightweight and have excellent buoyancy properties. They are typically made from soda-lime borosilicate glass and have a diameter that ranges from 1 to 300 microns.

In deep sea applications, hollow glass microspheres are often used to create syntactic foam, which is a type of composite material that is designed to have a low density and high buoyancy. The microspheres are mixed with a polymer resin to create a foam that is strong, lightweight, and resistant to water absorption and chemical corrosion.

Syntactic foam made with hollow glass microspheres is often used to create buoyancy modules for underwater equipment, such as sensors, cameras, and instrumentation. The foam provides enough buoyancy to keep the equipment afloat in the water, while also protecting it from the harsh underwater environment.

Overall, hollow glass microspheres are an excellent choice for deep sea buoyancy material due to their lightweight, buoyant properties and resistance to water and chemical corrosion.

Hollow glass microspheres (HGMs) are not generally considered harmful to human health. They are small, lightweight particles made of glass, typically ranging in size from 1 to 100 microns in diameter. HGMs are commonly used as a lightweight filler material in a variety of applications, including paints, coatings, adhesives, and composites.

Several studies have evaluated the potential health effects of exposure to HGMs, and the results have generally been reassuring. The available evidence suggests that HGMs are not likely to cause significant harm to human health when used as intended.

Inhalation is the primary route of exposure to HGMs, and studies have shown that the particles are generally not respirable, meaning they are too large to enter the lungs and cause damage. Some studies have reported minor respiratory effects in animals exposed to high levels of HGMs, but these effects were generally reversible and not considered significant.

There is also no evidence to suggest that HGMs are absorbed into the body through the skin or gastrointestinal tract, as they are inert and do not react with biological tissues.

That being said, like with any material, it is important to handle HGMs safely and in accordance with applicable regulations. Manufacturers of HGMs typically provide guidelines for safe handling, storage, and disposal of their products, and it is important to follow these guidelines to minimize the potential for exposure and ensure safe use.

Hollow glass microspheres can be classified based on various properties such as their size, wall thickness, density, and surface area. Here are some ways to classify hollow glass microspheres:

Size classification: Hollow glass microspheres can be classified based on their diameter. Typically, hollow glass microspheres range in size from 1 to 300 microns. They can be further subdivided into different size ranges, such as fine (<30 microns), medium (30-100 microns), and coarse (>100 microns).

Wall thickness classification: The wall thickness of hollow glass microspheres can also be used to classify them. Hollow glass microspheres typically have wall thicknesses ranging from a few nanometers to a few microns. They can be classified as thin-walled, intermediate-walled, or thick-walled based on their wall thickness.

Density classification: Hollow glass microspheres can also be classified based on their density. Hollow glass microspheres have a lower density than most solid materials, typically ranging from 0.1 to 1.0 g/cm3. They can be classified as low density (0.1-0.4 g/cm3), medium density (0.4-0.7 g/cm3), or high density (0.7-1.0 g/cm3) based on their density.

Surface area classification: Hollow glass microspheres can also be classified based on their surface area. Hollow glass microspheres have a high surface area to volume ratio, making them useful in applications such as catalysis and filtration. They can be classified as low surface area (<1 m2/g), medium surface area (1-10 m2/g), or high surface area (>10 m2/g) based on their surface area.

Application-specific classification: Hollow glass microspheres can also be classified based on their specific applications. For example, hollow glass microspheres can be used in the aerospace industry as lightweight fillers or in the oil and gas industry as drilling fluids. They can be classified based on their suitability for specific applications, such as aerospace, oil and gas, or construction.

High-damping polyurethane hollow glass microspheres are a type of lightweight filler material used in the production of composites. These microspheres are made from hollow glass particles that are coated with a layer of polyurethane material. The resulting material is a lightweight, high-strength filler that can be used to reduce the weight of composite materials without compromising their strength and durability.

One of the key advantages of high-damping polyurethane hollow glass microspheres is their high damping capacity, which allows them to absorb vibrations and impact energy. This makes them particularly useful in applications where shock absorption and impact resistance are important, such as in the aerospace, automotive, and marine industries.

In addition to their high damping capacity, high-damping polyurethane hollow glass microspheres also offer other benefits such as low thermal conductivity, low dielectric constant, and low water absorption. They can also be easily incorporated into a variety of composite materials, including plastics, resins, and rubbers.

Hollow glass microspheres (HGMs) are a type of lightweight material that have been studied for their potential application in hydrogen gas storage. Hydrogen has been identified as a promising alternative fuel source, but it is difficult to store due to its low density and high reactivity. HGMs, with their high surface area and low density, have the potential to overcome some of the challenges of hydrogen storage.

Hollow glass microspheres can be used as a support material for metal hydrides, which are compounds that can store hydrogen in a solid state. The hollow glass microspheres provide a high surface area for the metal hydride to adhere to, which increases the storage capacity of the material. The hollow nature of the HGMs also allows for the easy diffusion of hydrogen into and out of the material, which is critical for efficient storage and release of the gas.

Research has shown that hollow glass microspheres can significantly improve the hydrogen storage capacity of metal hydrides. Additionally, HGMs have the advantage of being lightweight and easy to handle, making them attractive for use in portable hydrogen storage applications.

Hollow glass microspheres are used in a number of applications that require their introduction into a matrix material through a variety of mixing operations.

In order to survive this processing, the spheres must be able to withstand tremendous pressures. To characterize the strength of the hollow glass microspheres as well as a comprehensive understanding of sphere mechanical properties, equipment was designed and constructed that could individually test spheres.

By the use of Classical Buckling Theory for isostatic compression and by developing a theory for failure under uniaxial compression, hollow glass microsphere strength can accurately be determined.

Established cell isolation and purification techniques such as fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS), isolation through magnetic micro/nanoparticles, and recovery via microfluidic devices have limited application as disposable technologies appropriate for point-of-care use in remote areas where lab equipment as well as electrical, magnetic, and optical sources are restricted.

We report a simple yet effective method for cell isolation and recovery that requires neither specialized lab equipment nor any form of power source. Specifically, self-floating hollow glass microspheres were coated with an enzymatically degradable nanolayered film and conjugated with antibodies to allow both fast capture and release of subpopulations of cells from a cell mixture.

Targeted cells were captured by the hollow glass microspheres and allowed to float to the top of the hosting liquid, thereby isolating targeted cells. To minimize nonspecific adhesion of untargeted cells and to enhance the purity of the isolated cell population, an antifouling polymer brush layer was grafted onto the nanolayered film.

Using the EpCAM-expressing cancer cell line PC-3 in blood as a model system, we have demonstrated the isolation and recovery of cancer cells without compromising cell viability or proliferative potential. The whole process takes less than 1 h. To support the rational extension of this platform technology, we introduce extensive characterization of the critical design parameters: film formation and degradation, grafting with a poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) sheath, and introducing functional antibodies.

Our approach is expected to overcome practical hurdles and provide viable targeted cells for downstream analyses in resource-limited settings.

Hollow glass microspheres, also known as microbubbles, glass bubbles, or bubbles, are composed mostly of a borosilicate-soda lime glass combination formulation and have advantages such as strong heat and chemical resistance, as well as low density.

These microspheres can also have conductive coatings applied on them. The adjusted thickness of the conductive coating on microbubbles provides superior shielding and conductivity qualities. Electronics, medical devices, military applications, biotechnology, and a variety of other specialist sectors can all benefit from these.

The hollow glass microspheres have a remarkable spherical form that provides numerous significant benefits, including decreased shrinkage and warpage, better flow/lower viscosity, and greater fill loading.

It also enables the hollow glass microspheres to easily mix into compounds, making them very flexible to a variety of manufacturing processes like as casting, spraying, and moulding.

When heated, the volume increases 50 to 170X depending on the grade used.

Expandable hollow glass microspheres benefits include weight reduction, improved moldability, thermal and sound absorption.

Hollow glass microspheres are a precision foaming agent that are characterized by easy control of specific gravity, retention of closed cells, small sphere diameter and uniform distribution.

Hollow glass microspheres provide the flexibility to be foamed in resin and within high permeability materials such as fibers and paints.

Hollow glass microspheres developed in recent years, are a new type of materials which shows a greater use and an outstanding performance. The product, made mainly from borosilicate, is a hollow microspheres whose grain size is 10-250 micron and wall-thickness 1-2 micron.

Hollow glass microspheres have many advantages substantial weight saving, low heat conductivity, high mechanical strength and fine chemical stability. With treated specially, hollow glass microspheres have the properties of lipophilicity and hydrophobicity and are very easily dispersed in organic materials such as resin. It is widely used in the composite materials such as FRP(fiber reinforced plastics),man-made marble and man-made agate.

Hollow glass microspheres have the distinct results of decreasing weight, sound insulation and heat preservation, thus the products have the excellent performances of anti-crazing and re-processing. Hollow glass microspheres are widely to be used in a range of fields such as aviation, space, new bullet train, luxurious yacht, heat insulating dope, bowling balls and play a unique role.