Applied Technology Review: Specials Magazine

In controlled lab environments, achieving particle measurement precision is rarely the issue. But outside the lab, where temperature, humidity and flow dynamics can shift without warning, particle behavior becomes less predictable, and the true resilience of a measurement system is tested. Even the slightest misread in nanoparticle size distribution or aerosol concentration under fluctuating environmental conditions can lead to cascading consequences, like compromised product quality, failed compliance checks or a breakdown in trust across critical systems. The question isn’t whether a device can deliver accuracy under optimal lab settings; it’s whether that accuracy holds when the real world sets in. That’s the space where Tokyo Dylec Corp (TDC) has distinguished itself for over 30 years. The company provides high-resolution particle and aerosol measurement systems that embed scientific rigor, real-world testing and long-term calibration into every deployment. TDC’s process begins well before the sale, with in-house sample testing and simulated operating conditions that reflect the customer’s actual environment. The systems-first approach recognizes that in nanoparticle and microparticle applications, precision is only meaningful if it survives variability. Each instrument is calibrated not just to measure, but to maintain integrity across changing environmental parameters. That difference is what keeps clients coming back to TDC, because when the measurement system is reliable, the data is no longer second-guessed. The trust has only deepened as the role of particle measurement has expanded. “Long before particle characterization became central to semiconductors, clean energy platforms and environmental monitoring, we were developing the instrumentation that allowed those capabilities to take shape across Asia’s industrial and research ecosystems,” says Yoshiaki Shirai, president and CEO. Today, that foundation supports a wide range of high-impact applications, including evaluating submicron filtration efficiency, testing indoor environmental conditions and simulating complex atmospheric scenarios. Through it all, TDC remains accountable for what its instruments report, ensuring that every measurement is reliable, reproducible and ready to stand up to scrutiny. MEASURING WHAT OTHERS CAN’T SEE Most scientists would say measuring particles below 20 nanometers is unreliable. At this scale, optical methods like dynamic light scattering (DLS) begin to break down. Signal drift, environmental variability and particle-specific behavior—shape, charge and concentration—introduce inconsistencies that render the data increasingly fragile. But for TDC, that’s not the limit. It’s the entry point. Rather than relying exclusively on optical inference, it applies a condensation particle counter methodology, condensing vapor onto individual nanoparticles to enlarge them for optical detection. The approach allows for direct, high-fidelity particle counting well below the threshold of DLS, even under unstable environmental conditions.