Simultaneous sizing and electrophoretic mobility measurement of sub-micron particles using Brownian motion.

The size and surface chemistry of micron scale particles are of fundamental importance in studies of biology and air particulate pollution. However, typical electrophoretic measurements of these and other sub-micron scale particles (300 nm-1 μm) cannot resolve size information within heterogeneous mixtures unambiguously. Using optical microscopy, we monitor electrophoretic motion together with the Brownian velocity fluctuations - using the latter to measure size by either the Green-Kubo relation or by calibration from known size standards. Particle diameters are resolved to ±12% with 95% confidence. Strikingly, the size resolution improves as the particle size decreases due to the increased Brownian motion. The sizing ability of the Brownian assessed electrophoresis method described here complements the electrophoretic mobility resolution of the traditional CE.