Material Characterization
Our material characterization services help life sciences organizations understand the physical and chemical properties of materials. This insight supports product quality, manufacturing performance, and regulatory compliance.
Material Characterization Capabilities
Our material characterization services help life sciences organizations understand the physical and chemical properties of materials. This insight supports product quality, manufacturing performance, and regulatory compliance. Whether you’re troubleshooting product failures, optimizing performance, or validating quality across pharmaceuticals, medical devices, manufacturing, or food and beverage — our testing services reveal the hidden properties that drive real-world results.
Our material characterization services frequently support particulate matter testing and analytical testing programs requiring deeper insight into contaminant identity and material composition.
- Material/Containment Identification
- Gas, Soil, Water, Pollutant Analysis
- Raw Materials Analysis
- Elemental Composition
- Reaction Monitoring & Mechanistic Studies
- Film/Coating Identification
- Food & Beverage Adulteration Detection/Label Authenticity
- Polymer Typing B Dehydration Analysis
Material Characterization Testing
At Gillson Sciences, we offer a range of material characterization techniques to meet our clients’ diverse needs. Our methods deliver accurate, reproducible measurements for research, quality control, and regulatory compliance.
Fourier - Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR)
Fourier-Transform Infrared Spectroscopy enables rapid identification of non-IR reflective materials by analyzing the stretching of molecular bands caused by infrared light absorption, with the resulting spectrum of a given material serving as a molecular fingerprint. Our team uses FTIR to confirm material identity, detect contaminants, compare unknowns to reference libraries, and support root‑cause investigations across polymers, coatings, pharmaceuticals, food products, and more. With both qualitative and semi‑quantitative analysis capabilities, FTIR provides fast, reliable insight into what a material is and how its chemical structure influences performance. FTIR analysis is commonly performed in accordance with ASTM International standards and USP guidelines for pharmaceutical material identification.
Scanning Electron Microscopy with Energy Dispersive X‑ray Spectroscopy (SEM/EDS)
Scanning Electron Microscopy provides high‑resolution imaging to reveal surface topography and defects at the nanoscale. Accompanying Energy-Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy provides elemental analysis to explore material composition at the microscale. This technique allows us to characterize morphology, identify contaminants or inclusions, map elemental distribution, and support failure investigations across metals, polymers, coatings, and complex assemblies. By combining detailed imaging with precise chemical data, SEM/EDS delivers the clarity needed to understand how structure and composition influence performance.
Optical Microscopy
Optical Microscopy provides detailed visual examination of materials, surfaces, and defects at magnifications ideal for assessing morphology, particle size, surface features, and early‑stage failures. Using both brightfield and polarized light techniques, we evaluate contaminants, inclusions, coatings, and structural irregularities to support characterization, comparison, and quality assessments across a wide range of materials. This method offers fast, reliable insight into visible‑level characteristics that often guide deeper analytical testing.
Frequently Asked Questions
Material characterization is the process of analyzing the physical, chemical, and structural properties of materials to understand their composition, behavior, and performance. In life sciences, it supports contaminant identification, failure analysis, formulation development, and regulatory compliance.
Gillson Sciences offers FTIR spectroscopy for molecular identification, SEM/EDS for high-resolution imaging and elemental analysis, and optical microscopy for surface and morphology assessment. Additional capabilities include gas, soil, and water analysis, raw materials analysis, and polymer typing.
Material characterization is often used to identify the composition of particles detected during particulate matter testing. When a particle is found in a drug product or manufacturing environment, FTIR or SEM/EDS can determine whether it is a contaminant, a process byproduct, or a material incompatibility.
Yes. Gillson Sciences provides adulteration detection, label authenticity verification, and ingredient analysis for food and beverage organizations using FTIR and related techniques.
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