Particle College

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June 3/4, 2008 in Boulder, Colorado.

Particle Measuring Systems presents Particle College, an educational seminar on the fundamentals of particle counting and its applications.

Through presentations and demonstrations, you will learn about particles, what they are, how they are detected, forces on particles, and what type of instruments are used to quantify these contaminants. Professionals with real-world experience will instruct you on the mechanics of detecting particulates, will discuss the benefits and considerations of various monitoring techniques, and will offer insight on the future trends associated with contamination.

Tuition
The fee for the two-day seminar in Colorado is $1175.00. If you book up to 30 days prior to the course, the price is discounted by $100. Registration includes classroom materials, and breakfast and lunch both days. Additionally, Particle Measuring Systems hosts a dinner on Tuesday evening for all our guests.

CEUs are awarded for this class.

For More Information
If you are interested in learning more about Particle College, contact Nina Akindele at 1-800-238-1801 or email particlecollege@pmeasuring.com

FAQs

Question What is the cost of the hotel?
Answer The class is held at the Marriott where we have a special room rate of $209/night. Other nearby hotels include the Millenium Harvest House and the Best Western Golden Bluff.

Question Is there a shuttle service from the airport to the Marriott?
Answer Yes, you can make arrangements with the Boulder Super Shuttle for transportation; no car rental is necessary.

Question What time does the class start/end so that I can book flights?
Answer The class starts at 7:00 am on the first day, and runs until 5:00 pm on the second day.

On-site Particle College
If your company has several employees who would benefit from Particle College, we also offer customized, on-site training. We will develop a program to cater to your applications, and an expert in contamination monitoring will visit you at your location to deliver interactive presentations and hands-on demonstrations.

The cost of on-site training depends on the scope of the seminar. Contact Rebecca Thompson rthomspon@pmeasuring.com or your local sales representative for more information.

Course Descriptions

Particle Physics Cleanroom basics will be introduced including a review and comparison of ISO and FS209E classifications. Particle size, composition, types, and sources are reviewed in a detailed look at particle basics. Also discussed are commonly used measurements to define the size irregular shaped particles and the implication of each technique. Additionally, particle concentrations in liquid and air samples are explored.

Particle Mechanism Particle behavior is presented by reviewing the transport characteristics, interactions and various forces on particles. Filtration mechanisms and filter efficiency curves are introduced for air and liquid systems. The role of index of refraction, particle size and shape are reviewed. In addition, the principles of Rayleigh and Mie light scattering are covered including basic scattering relationships.

Fundamentals of Particle Counting
This presentation introduces the fundamentals of Optical Particle Counters. Topics include OPC design and specifications, industry nomenclature, laser light and detector basics, instrument types, and a discussion on sensor resolution and accuracy. The objective of the presentation is to establish a common background and language that will contribute to a better functional understanding of Optical Particle Counters.

Introduction to Molecular Contamination
An overview describing molecular contamination, its sources, effects, and how it interacts with materials. The objective of this session is to provide an understanding of common molecular contamination problems and how these problems can be resolved

Advanced Molecular Contamination
An in-depth discussion of how molecular contamination is monitored. Analytical techniques and monitoring strategies will be presented. The objective of this session is to provide the information necessary to establish a cleanroom molecular contamination monitoring program.

Introduction to Monitoring Particles in Air
Introduction to the types of particle counters used to monitor aerosol particles. The equipment includes particle counters, spectrometers, monitors and sensors. A comparison between mobile, fixed, and sequential monitoring along with the advantages and disadvantages of each method are covered. Additionally, specialized applications and possible types of devices to monitor those applications are discussed.

Advanced Air Monitoring
Principals of aerosol monitoring focused on where should monitoring occur, when should monitoring happen and how should monitoring be conducted. Discussion of how the product installation can impact the aerosol monitoring data. Review of several installations for recommended installation practices.

Introduction to Monitoring Particles in Liquids
This presentation introduces the different types of liquid particle counting systems and discusses the pros and cons of each. Particle monitoring schemes are presented with commentary on advantages and disadvantages of each. Methods of performance verification are presented and data is used to help provide a better understanding of calibration accuracy in these high performance products.

Advanced Liquid Monitoring
We delve into the more difficult areas of liquid particle counting, including what happens to particle sizing when the index of refraction changes in the fluid, particle, or both. What constitutes statistical significance, and is there anything that can improve the data quality? In the remaining time we will discuss the issues of importance to you. Bring your difficult liquid application questions and we will share our knowledge with you.

Pharmaceutical Environmental Monitoring Legislative Requirements
Learn the current and changing trends in the GMP requirements for environmental monitoring in pharmaceutical cleanrooms. The session reviews how GMP reflects on how monitoring must and should be performed and how to implement monitoring solutions to meet those needs.

Environmental Monitoring for the Pharmaceutical Industry
How to apply the current legislation for environmental monitoring into real solutions, both portable and continuous monitoring is covered with examples of instrument placement used in monitoring. Learn how to qualify a process relative to risk and choose the most suitable location to give ongoing risk based data. Reporting of data to inspectorate and definition of alert and action levels.

Monitoring Pharmaceutical Liquids
USP, EP and JP requirements define the limits and test requirements for pharmaceutical injectable liquids. the session looks at those requirements and how the original limits were defined, it also reviews suitable acceptance criteria for product qualification and release.

Part Cleanliness Testing
This presentation introduces the methods and techniques for part cleanliness testing of common parts used within the semiconductor, disc drive, automotive and pharmaceutical/medical device industries. Topics include methods of particle extraction, techniques for measuring particles, data analysis and optimizing parameters of ultrasonic extraction.

Demonstration Stations

Calibration of Particle Counters
Our demonstration will include both aerosol and liquid calibration setups. A technician at each set up will work through some simple steps and be available to address attendee questions and explain the mechanics of calibration. These will not be formal stand-up presentations but rather informal gatherings around the equipment.

CLS 700 Liquid Sampler and SamplerSight Software
This demonstration will allow you to view the CLS-700 in action. The corrosive liquid sampler couples a compression sampler with a Liquilaz to eliminate the erratic data problems due to bubbles found in effervescent and hot corrosive chemicals.

Calculating Statistical Data in Liquid Particle Counting
This session will focus on using statistics to determine the sizing accuracy and counting efficiency of a liquid particle counter. The technique for calculating these statistics will be reviewed and we will utilize the Sizing Accuracy calculation spreadsheet that we have developed.

Minienvironment Monitoring
Demonstration of how a single sample points vs multiple sample points can provided different data in a minienvironment.

Cleanroom Certification and Products
A discussion of the differences between Certification vs Monitoring of cleanrooms and how the particle counter used for certification impacts the certification process. Review of ISO 14644-1 and 2 and what is required to perform a clean room certification. An overview of the various Particle Measuring System products which can be used for cleanroom certification.

Monitoring Particles in Injectables
Application review of USP and EP testing including teh new USP test specification. Practical session that allows various solutions to be tested and teh distributiorn of 'non-visible' particles as tehy appear in these solutions. An analytical analysis of sizes beyond those required for USP

Facility Monitoring Systems
Examine clean room monitoring systems with an emphasis on the software utilized to collect and analyze the particulate data. Review how the data is transmitted and collected from the instruments and how data can be used for process analysis. Analyze historical particulate data to see how the software can convert data into information.

AMC Monitoring and Calibration This session will focus on Ion Mobility Spectrometry (IMS) as a technique to monitor AMC. Key points will include the benefits of continuous point of use monitoring, proper installation, and use of IMS instruments. Calibration of AMC monitors and common errors that can affect the accuracy of AMC data will also be discussed.