The resurgence of Coulter counting for analyzing nanoscale objects

Abstract

This review discusses recent advances in the science and technology of Coulter counting. The Coulter counting principle has been used to determine the size, concentration, and in favorable cases the surface charge, of nanometer-scale colloidal particles, viruses, DNA and other polymers, and metal ions. A resurgence of interest in the field of Coulter counting is occurring because of the advent of new technologies that permit fabrication of membranes containing single, robust, and chemically well-defined channels having smaller and more uniform sizes than could be prepared in the past. These channels are prepared from biological materials, such as self-assembling membrane proteins, and from synthetic materials such as polymers, carbon nanotubes, and silicon-based inorganic materials. In addition to particle characterization, there have been a few recent examples of using Coulter counters to study chemical processes, such as the dehybridization of DNA.