ABSOLUTE REAL-TIME MEASUREMENT OF PARTICLE-SIZE DISTRIBUTION WITH THEFLYING LIGHT-SCATTERING INDICATRIX METHOD

The flying light-scattering indicatrix (FLSI, angular dependency of th e intensity of light scattered by a moving individual particle) method , based on a scanning flow cytometer (SFC) that permits measurement of individual particle characteristics from light-scattering data, has b een used for the determination of size distribution of the following p articles: polystyrene latex, milk fat, and spores (Penicillium levitum , Aspergillus pseudoglaucus). The optical system of the SFC and empiri cal equations provided absolute sizing at the rate of 50 particles/s. Size distributions obtained with the FLSI method and a best-fit proced ure using Mie scattering theory have been compared. (C) 1996 Optical S ociety of America